Nearly seven thousand Arizona education jobs have been saved or created so far by the federal government’s stimulus package, but less than five percent of some funds available to schools have been utilized, according to a draft report from the U.S. Department of Education.
The report indicates that funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) helped preserve 6,977 education jobs, and that without the stimulus, funding for education in FY2010, the current fiscal year, would be $4.9 billion, compared with $5.4 billion in FY2008. However, with the stimulus funding, education funding is $5.3 billion. A loss of $100 million is hardly cause for celebration, and is likely due to reductions in the base level that were made permanent in the FY2010 budget. However, these numbers serve to illustrate the point that absent the stimulus funding, education in Arizona would be in a much worse position than it is currently. This serves as a reminder that a very very steep cliff is coming when the stimulus money runs out. Advocates for public education at all levels will play a key role in protecting our entire education system, from preschool all the way through college, by letting policymakers know that our vision for a prosperous Arizona includes a robust school system.
Another interesting detail from the report has to do with Title I funding for economically disadvantaged students and IDEA-B funding for special needs students. Arizona was awarded a total of $195 million in additional Title I funding, but statewide, only $7.8 million has been drawn down. Arizona received $178.5 million in IDEA-B funding, but only $8.7 million, or less than 5 percent, has been drawn down. If school districts don’t have the information they need to utilize this funding, the state department of education should be actively coaching districts on how to take advantage of it. Enabling local school districts to make maximum use of available funds, be they federal or otherwise, is a key responsibility of state education agencies. When less than four or five percent of the total allocations have been used, something is not working right.
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