$1.4 Billion in Recovery Funds Now Available for PA to Save Jobs and Drive Education Reform

Application for Part 1 of Pennsylvania’s State Stabilization Funds Approved Today

November 2, 2009 -- U. S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today announced that $1.4 billion is now available for Pennsylvania under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. This funding will lay the foundation for a generation of education reform and help save hundreds of thousands of teaching jobs at risk of state and local budget cuts. Pennsylvania will be eligible to apply for another $514,403,320 later this fall.

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Today’s funding is being made available per Pennsylvania’s successful completion of Part 1 of the State Stabilization Application, which was made available on April 1.

“The Recovery Act was designed to meet two critical challenges: rescue the economy from the immediate peril it faces and invest in the building blocks of a strong economy,” Secretary Duncan explained. “The Recovery Act investments in our students and our schools will have a huge payoff in the years ahead.

“The $1.4 billion Pennsylvania will receive today is part of the single largest boost in education funding in recent history,” Secretary Duncan added. “The President’s leadership and support from Congress have made this historic investment possible. Pennsylvania can now utilize these funds to save jobs and lay the groundwork for a generation of education reform.”

To date, Pennsylvania has received nearly $1.2 billion in education stimulus funds—representing a combination of funding for Title I, IDEA and Vocational Rehabilitation and Independent Living grants. Since April 1, Pennsylvania has received more than $400 million in Title I funding and nearly $460 million in IDEA funding. On April 1, Pennsylvania also received $10.5 million in Vocational Rehab funds and more than $550,000 in Independent Living funds.

In order to receive today’s funds, Pennsylvania provided assurances that it will collect, publish, analyze and act on basic information regarding the quality of classroom teachers, annual student improvements, college readiness, the effectiveness of state standards and assessments, progress on removing charter caps, and interventions in turning around underperforming schools.

Pennsylvania is also required by the U.S. Department of Education to report the number of jobs saved through Recovery Act funding, the amount of state and local tax increases averted and how funds are used.

See Pennsylvania and other state applications for initial funding under the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund Program at http://www.ed.gov/programs/statestabilization/resources.html.

Source: Dept. of Education