Stimulus package promises millions to schools
Posted On: Friday, Jan. 23 2009 05:17 AM
From staff reports
If the economic recovery legislation before Congress passes, public school districts in Bell and Coryell counties could have an additional $38.4 million over a two-year period to spend, according to Strategic Partnerships Inc., an Austin-based research and procurement consulting firm.
The funds are part of the $825 billion economic stimulus package being considered by the House of Representatives. The House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday reported its economic stimulus bill out of committee, and the bill will now go to the House floor for debate.
"This is good news for schools, good news for the economy and good news for companies that sell to government," said Mary Scott Nabers, president and CEO of Strategic Partnerships Inc. "Not only will the federal economic stimulus funding provide Texas schools with some much-needed additional money for facilities, programs and technology, but it will also open up additional contracting opportunities for local businesses."
Any additional federal funding could be especially helpful to the Killeen Independent School District, which is facing at least a $4 million shortage in its next fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1. The House plan would give KISD an additional $19.8 million over two years.
KISD officials could not be reached for comment Thursday night.
The funding is aimed at improving public school classrooms, laboratories and libraries for students across the nation and is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan aimed at providing increased educational opportunities for students, creating jobs and moving the nation's economy forward. The House bill includes about $41 billion in funds that could go to local school districts nationwide.
Another $14 billion is estimated to be allocated for school modernization and repairs, and an estimated $1 billion could be allocated for education technology.
Before any money can reach school districts, the bill must be approved by the House and the Senate, which has its own economic recovery proposal, and then signed by President Barack Obama.
"Although these figures are not yet firm," Nabers said, "President Obama has said he intends to move swiftly on the economic stimulus package."