Kentucky gets $176 million to shore up school budgets

This from C-J:

The U.S. Department of Education has approved an additional $176 million in federal stimulus funds that will help Kentucky save jobs of teachers in the coming year.

Without the money, “we would have laid off lots of teachers,” said Terry Holliday, the state’s education commissioner.

The funds mean that Kentucky has now been allocated more than $1 billion in education funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, passed in 2009 to stimulate a staggering national economy.

State officials had budgeted in anticipation of the latest funds for the coming fiscal year, according to Holliday. Congress had made this category of education funding available for both 2010 — used by Kentucky schools in their current budgets — and for 2011.

But receiving the second year’s funds required approval of a separate grant application, which was announced Friday by federal education officials.

The new funding will be earmarked toward fiscal stabilization, a category that has enabled school districts to preserve teacher jobs.

To qualify for the funding, Kentucky had to document such things as how it has used student data and evaluations of teachers and principals for educational improvements.

Holliday said that while the latest grant will cushion budgets for another year, “My biggest concern going forward is fiscal year 2012.” He said he hopes Congress works out more funding for that year to prevent major cuts...