To his great credit, Secretary Duncan has spent the last several months imploring the education world to spend stimulus money on reform-oriented projects. He has been explicit that states and districts should not use this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to merely protect jobs. This $100 billion investment must generate meaningful change in the lives of students, he has emphasized, not sustain the status quo.
This week, however, the Vice President's office released a self-congratulatory report highlighting 100 projects that have been funded via the ARRA. Three of them are in the K-12 world (numbers????37, 38, and 45). Every single one touts job protection; not a one references reform.
"For the Alachua County School District, the budget????stabilization portion of the stimulus will be $9.1 million for school years 2009-10 and 2010-11.????Keith Birkett, assistant superintendent for planning and budget, said all that money will be spent????on teachers.""Recovery Act funds are saving 139 teaching jobs in Seminole County,????Florida."
"Colquitt County School Board [Georgia] approved Monday new instructional positions that will be funded through the recently enacted federal stimulus program. The grants are expected to fund 12 positions within the school system."