USDE approves Texas' application for federal stimulus funds
LAN Update - Archive 07/24/09
The U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced today that the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) has approved Texas' application for federal stimulus funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. About $2 billion will begin flowing to school districts in the coming weeks. Those funds include nearly $1.9 billion dollars that will go directly to school districts to help shore up budget shortfalls and to provide every teacher, nurse, librarian, counselor and full-time speech pathologist a pay raise of at least $800.
Concerns that the federal government might not approve the funding have persisted since the Legislature opted to use federal stimulus money instead of that state's general revenue to provide the additional funding to school districts. Stimulus funding was not intended to supplant state funding according to the guidelines issued by the federal government.
Texas has already received around $1.7 billion in ARRA funding and will be eligible to apply for another $1 billion this fall.
ATPE is pleased with the USDE's decision to approve the application and provide Texas educators a well-deserved pay increase.
If you have any questions please contact ATPE Governmental Relations at (800) 777-ATPE or e-mail us at ATPE Governmental Relations.
To find contact info for your legislators go to
http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us and enter your address.
Ask your colleagues to
sign up for the ATPE Legislative Alert Network.
This is legislative advertising
contracted for by Doug Rogers, Executive Director, Association of Texas
Professional Educators, 305 E. Huntland Dr., Suite 300, Austin, TX
78752-3792, representing ATPE.
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