Senators Stabenow, Levin Announce $1 Billion in Funding Available to Reform Michigan Schools, Save Teachers

Funds made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act which passed earlier this year

June 3, 2009 -- WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Carl Levin (D-MI) announced today that Michigan has received $1 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding through the U.S. Department of Education’s State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF).

Article continues below...

This funding will help reform our schools and keep teachers in the classroom. The funding was made available following Michigan’s successful completion of the first round of the SFSF application, which was made available on April 1.

“We need to provide our children with a world-class education, so they can compete in the global economy,” said Stabenow. “During these tough economic times, I am so pleased Michigan will receive this important funding to keep our teachers in the classroom and ensure our children are receiving the education they deserve.”

“A great education is one of the most important things we can provide to our children,” said Levin. “I am hopeful that this federal economic recovery funding will help school districts across Michigan avoid painful budget cuts and prepare our young people to succeed in the 21st century.”

SFSF funds are awarded to governors to advance essential education reforms to benefit students from early learning through post-secondary education and ensuring an equitable distribution of qualified teachers. A second round of stabilization funds will be available later in the year. A third round of funding, the Race to the Top competitive grant program, will reward states that have made the most progress on reforms.

With today’s announcement, Michigan has received a total of $421 million in ARRA education funding. This includes $195 million in Title I funding, over $213 million in IDEA funding, $9 million in Vocational Rehab funding, and $1.6 million in Independent Living funding.

In order to receive today’s funds, Michigan provided assurances that it will collect, publish, analyze and act on basic information regarding the quality of classroom teachers, annual student improvements, college readiness, the effectiveness of state standards and assessments, progress on removing charter caps and interventions in turning around underperforming schools.

For more information, please visit www.ed.gov/recovery.

Source: Senator Carl Levin