When or how will Edujobs windfall rain on districts?

By Elizabeth Scheinberg

What will the Edujobs bill mean to Delaware? Budget officials in Missouri are asking the same question in their state...

From Schools and the Stimulus Blog
Districts Left in Doubt Over Federal Funds

By Jessica Bock, St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MCT)

When President Barack Obama signed an emergency education spending bill this week, supporters said it would almost immediately send $10 billion to states—including more than $600 million in Missouri and Illinois—to spare thousands of teacher jobs.

Now some educators are puzzled over how and when the money will actually reach schools.

One top Missouri budget official is uncertain whether the state will even distribute all the new federal funds this year.

Meanwhile, leaders at many school districts—including several in suburban St. Louis—are assuming they will be left with little to none of the windfall.

For example, the $190 million headed to Missouri won't likely bring 35 teachers back to work at Lindbergh, the only St. Louis County school district forced to lay off a significant number due to the recession.

"It's not fun to be on the wrong end of irony," said Pat Lanane, Lindbergh's chief financial officer. "I have no expectation that we'll do any better this time."

That's because the rules for distributing the federal money wouldn't direct the funds to all school districts equally..."