Imagine receiving an unexpected financial windfall. You’ve got to come up with a way to make the money last a long time. And you’ve got to solidify your plan quickly.

That pretty much sums up the challenge facing school districts nationwide that stand to benefit from the $100 billion earmarked for education in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. School administrators are charged with thinking about the long term in the short term.

The stakes are higher than ever before. Texas public schools are expected to receive more than $6 billion under the landmark stimulus plan. Approximately $4 billion in state stabilization funds will go toward general operations. Another $2 billion will go toward low-income and special education students. The state will also receive $1 billion in tax credit bonds for school construction costs — $466 million of which is earmarked exclusively for 18 large districts.

“This is an historic opportunity to improve public education,” says R. Jerel Booker, who chairs the Texas Education Agency Commission’s Task Force on Federal Stimulus and Stabilization. “This is not a time for business as usual.”

TEA officials say their top priority is giving every student an effective teacher and closing the achievement gap between students of varying ethnicities and income levels. At the federal level, the U.S. Department of Education’s buzzword is “innovation.” The stimulus plan includes the $5 billion Race to the Top Fund, a competitive grant that rewards states for bold and creative programs.

To meet funding requirements, proposals from school districts must illustrate how the district will drive results for students, increase educators’ capacity, accelerate reform, improve productivity and foster continuous improvement.

The catch: In two years, the money will be gone. Federal officials have discouraged districts and states from pursuing initiatives or staffing that cannot be sustained once the funding ends in the fall of 2011. Read more here

 

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