The Virginian-Pilot
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Virginia's public schools are in line to get nearly $250 million in federal cash from the education jobs bill signed by President Obama on Tuesday.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, the $10 billion fund is being divided among states based on population. States will distribute the money to school divisions based either on their basic aid formula or the share of money the schools receive for educating poor children.
Which method will be used in Virginia will be at the discretion of Gov. Bob McDonnell. His press secretary said the funds will provide temporary relief without requiring any changes to the state budget.
The White House and congressional leaders have touted the bill as a job-saver that will keep 3,800 teachers working in Virginia alone. However, the state does not track teacher layoffs, and the Virginia Education Association estimates that the actual job losses have been in the hundreds, not thousands.
Locally, layoffs have been rare, with nine teachers losing their jobs in Norfolk and two in Northampton County. There have been no layoffs in Chesapeake, Suffolk, Portsmouth or Virginia Beach. Many schools reduced staff through attrition.
The money will be granted to states within two weeks after the states apply for the funding. The American Association of School Administrators estimated that as much as $93.7 million of the state funding could be on its way to schools in congressional districts that include South Hampton Roads and the Eastern Shore.
The state superintendent informed school divisions Wednesday that the money can be used for pay, benefits and to provide educational services, but not for administrative expenses or support services.
The Washington -based nonprofit Center for Education Reform, which supports charter schools and school choice, on Tuesday railed against the passage of the bill. The center's president, Jeanne Allen, called the bill a bailout for a "manufactured crisis" caused by excessive hiring.
"Most of the positions and programs that would be secured by this new bailout with taxpayer dollars are not classroom teachers," she said in a news release.
Although local school divisions said they'll need more information to determine how they'll spend the money, Suffolk Public Schools said they plan to fill the most critical positions as determined by state test scores and student growth.
It's estimated that $93.7 million could be on its way to schools in congressional districts that include South Hampton Roads and the Eastern Shore, according to the American Association of School Administrators.
Lauren Roth, (757) 222-5133, lauren.roth@pilotonline.com
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We don't need it, all we
We don't need it, all we need in Virginia is "freedom".
Read the bill
Virginia may not even be eligible for these funds. I do not think that one Legislature can bind a future Legislature under the State Constitution, so these funds will all go to states that allow gross misspending by the states' delegates that are transferable to future elected bodies.
Specifically, the bill stipulates that federal funds must supplement, not replace, state spending on education. Also, in each state, next year's spending on elementary and secondary education as a percentage of total state revenues must be equal to or greater than the previous year's level.
plenty of waste
white boards, while nifty and more interactive, are not more important than teachers and class sizes
specialist that are way over paid and do not teach in the classroom, they just take up air
tremendous amounts of money spent on team sports, way more money than is justified by 100 kids every three years getting to play on the team
changing text books every year for minor updates and no significant educational benefit
schools that have less than 300 students that were designed to hold twice that or more are kept open - providing some with the benefits of a private school at the expense of all other teachers and citizens
there is plenty of waste, if you not a ideologue who just enjoys ranting, while offering no solutions
"The Washington -based
"The Washington -based nonprofit Center for Education Reform, which supports charter schools and school choice, on Tuesday railed against the passage of the bill. The center's president, Jeanne Allen, called the bill a bailout for a "manufactured crisis" caused by excessive hiring.
"Most of the positions and programs that would be secured by this new bailout with taxpayer dollars are not classroom teachers," she said in a news release."
______________________________________
Interesting comment from a charter school advocate when charter schools accept federal $$, but are not held to the same accountability standards as public schools.
This is also an example of Obama's poorly devised education policy...instead of working together, we find ourselves wasting a lot of energy pointing fingers and complaining about "how much money THEY got." Sounds like professional sports.
it won't save a single job
This won't save a single job, School Districts and School Boards are more concerned with Pet Projects and building new Green Schools.
It is more important to these board members to have photo opps with new Green Schools rather than saving jobs or improving the educational standards and principles in this Country.
Its time for cut backs and saving, the country is bankrupt !
More Spending
The reality is we cannot afford to keep printing money regardless of the reason. I realize the importance of education, but there is also a lot of waste in education. Let's address the waste and go from there.
Hey! they made GM and Chrysler jump through...
...flaming hoops like dogs, give part ownership of the company's to the government, fired the CEO's and whatnot as part of their bailout. They had to renegotiate contracts with the unions. The POTUS forced the closure of thousands of care dealerships and thousands of people to lose their jobs.
THIS IS A BAILOUT! I want to know what the educators are going to have to give up! I want to know who is getting fired for not running an efficient school system! They already own the schools so what are they going to do to repay the taxpayers of the United States???
How about throwing some free money to construction workers too? We work out in this heat, in the cold, in the rain, in the occassional snow and we provide necessary services to keep Virginia and America going.
TRUE!
"POTUS forced the closure of thousands of care dealerships and thousands of people to lose their jobs."
This was one of the saddest things to watch......Family owned business having to shut down and layoff loyal employees. They received almost no notice and were ignored when they begged for an explanation as to WHY their Dealership was chosen.
Just RECENTLY, the administration admitted that this may have been a "hasty decision" ?
A bit late for apologies when thousands of families were affected!
"electricpaul"...Don't know HOW you've been working OUTSIDE in this heat! Although, "record cold" winters can't be fun either!
Thanks...
Both of my Grandfather's retired form GM, my Uncle (Dad's twin brother) retired from GM and my Dad is still working with 42 years of "seniority". Believe it or not he is not the typical union slug. He is 60 years old and still working hard everyday and quite a few weekends. I know what I'm talking about when it comes to that industry.
His plant in Spring Hill TN was idled ("skeleton crew" of about 600) like many others when GM had to consolidate production which I observed went back to "blue states" like Michigan (where I grew up so cold down here isn't too bad) and most of the dealerships that closed seem to be in predominately "red states".
Coincidence? I don't know to be quite honest with you but it does leave doubt in my mind about this administrations sincerity.
Lot's of liquids for the heat...ugh! Gotta go back out there now as a matter of fact.
New eyes
There are a lot of good teachers all across this nation; that said, there are also a lot of lousy ones. Why should the good teachers be penalized because school systems refuse to purge the bad?
There needs to be a system where observers that are not under the thumb of or beholden to or in fear of administrators, school boards, and the entrenched bureaucrats can help make life and teaching easier.
Monica is very correct about administration and specialists. Teachers who teach in higher grades start each new year with students who are severely behind academically, and they have to work extra hard to try and get these children up to grade level. This waste in resources (yes, teachers are resources)only makes the job more difficult for good teachers. It also leaves children thinking they are stupid because the don't get the "magic" that their peers do. These children become begin acting out and become more and more disconnected from the classroom and its life time benefits. This has to stop people. We have to try different approaches, just throwing money around, and asking for more pay is not solving the problem.