04.13.09: Federal Funds
By David Walrath
The Governor has sent the Section 28 letters (these accelerate the appropriations process and allow new federal funds to be allocated to schools within 30 days) to the Legislature to approve the allocation of the new federal stimulus funds for IDEA and Title 1. The Governor sent the letters last week. Schools should receive the first allocation by the end of April or very early May.
For information on the guidance from the federal government on how the funds may be used, please visit www.ed.gov.
The Governor also has applied for the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF) allocation (approximately $4 billion over three years for K-12) and will be applying for additional federal funds from the United States Secretary for Education’s set-aside funds for innovation.
School districts will need to have plans and assurances for the second allocation (in October) of the IDEA and Title 1 funds. The state will have to have assurances and a plan for the SFSF.
The money will be going to school districts.
Start planning but do not start spending. The May revision of state revenues and expenditures that will be in the last week of May could result in further state cuts that will require school districts to use the federal funds to backfill the possible new state cuts.
