Every Thursday, REL-NEI highlights state-based resources, press releases, and news around the Northeast and Islands Region related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). For a listing of REL Issues & Answers Reports categorized under ARRA topics and domains, click here.
Virgin Islands to get $71 Million for Education
ARRA grant competitions such as the Teacher Quality Grants, State Longitudinal Data Systems Grants, and Teacher Incentive Grants are now “on the street.”
Over the next four weeks, the U.S. Department of Education will be posting large amounts of information on its ARRA site including: Waiver Guidance for Title I; School Improvement Grant guidelines; metrics for the 2nd phase of the State Stabilization funds; and allocations for all title programs. Check the website daily to make sure you catch all the information as it becomes new.
On June 24th, Vermont’s Commissioner Armando Vilaseca posted a letter of intent on the broadband technology opportunities program. The letter is intended for superintendents who wish to place their schools on the priority list for broadband access. A consortium of Vermont government agencies (Department of Education, State of Vermont, and the Vermont Telecommunications Authority in conjunction with the Office of Economic Recovery) is putting forth a proposal for stimulus funds that address broadband issues across the state. The letter outlines those plans and also contains a “letter of intent” that superintendents can sign and return to place their Supervisory Union on the priority listing for joining this effort. The signed letters are due at the Department of Education by July 15th.
On June 22nd, Maine revised its ARRA Stabilization Funds spreadsheet, and on June 23rd the Maine DOE issued almost $24 million of ARRA funds to school systems; the first of three waves of State Fiscal Stabilization Funds (SFSFs) sent to school districts. SFSFs are the most flexible of the ARRA funds for education and can be used for a broad array of educational purposes, including adult and family literacy, vocational education, and modernization. Federal guidance urges that they be used for one-time purposes such as energy or security improvements and to purchase laptops for high school students and one-time professional development or educational planning grants. The Stabilization checks are in the mail and you can see how much each district was paid and not paid.
On June 22nd, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced that more than $134.5 million became available for New Hampshire under ARRA. To date, New Hampshire has received $42.6 million in education stimulus funds—a combination for Title I, IDEA, Vocational Rehabilitation Grants, and Independent Living Grants.
On June 17th, after meetings with Secretary Duncan, Governor John P. deJongh, Jr. of the U.S. Virgin Islands said he was pleased by the announcement by the U.S. Department of Education that the territory is eligible for almost $71 million in federal stimulus money ($4 million more than initially anticipated).
For more information, visit these Recovery.gov websites across the Northeast and Islands Region:
Connecticut
http://www.recovery.ct.gov/recovery/site/default.asp
http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/cwp/view.asp?a=2703&Q=322296
Maine
http://www.maine.gov/recovery/
http://www.maine.gov/education/recovery/index.html
Massachusetts
www.mass.gov/recovery
http://www.doe.mass.edu/arra/
New Hampshire
http://www.nh.gov/recovery/
http://www.ed.state.nh.us/education/recovery/index.htm
New York
http://uspeny.nysed.gov/arra/
Rhode Island
http://www.recovery.ri.gov/
http://www.ride.ri.gov/Finance/Funding/ARRA/
Vermont
http://education.vermont.gov/new/html/dept/recovery_act.html
Puerto Rico
http://www.buengobiernopr.com/arra/index.html
U.S. Virgin Islands
http://www.governordejongh.com/recovery/index.html
US Department of Education
http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/recovery/index.html
Knowledge Alliance
http://www.knowledgeall.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=87&Itemid=34
Council of State Governments: StateRecovery.org
http://www.staterecovery.org/education
