Indiana to receive more education funding

Indiana is set to distribute more than $765 million in education stimulus funds Thursday that will be filtered down to K-12 schools throughout the state as part of the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund.

The fund involves a one-time appropriation of $53.6 billion, that will be used throughout America as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as a way to stimulate the economy and create jobs, according to www.education.gov.

The U.S. Department of Education has awarded state governors about $48.6 billion through the fund to help ensure that Local Education Agencies and Institutions of Higher Education have the necessary resources to retain teachers and professors.

The principles of the fund are to spend money quickly to save and create jobs while improving student achievement through school improvement and reform, according to www.education.gov.

The Web site also states that on May 18, Indiana received more than $765 million in stabilization funds due to Indiana’s completion of the first part of the State Stabilization Application.

Money from the stabilization fund goes to K-12 public schools across the state that would generally have been paid with state funds but could not be due to revenue shortages, said Lance Rhodes, chief financial officer of the Indiana Department of Education.

The funds are disbursed to various schools throughout Indiana based on an intricate school funding formula put out by the legislature, which includes a count of students among other factors.

The money awarded to Indiana goes directly to the schools’ own budgets, Rhodes said.

“They can spend it on anything they normally would pass straight through to the schools so they can use it for their operating expenses,” Rhodes said.

However, in order to receive the money, each school has to report to the Indiana Department of Education.

“They have to say how they’ll spend the money, a letter of assurance saying they will spend the money appropriately,” Rhodes said.

Indiana is required through the U.S. Department of Education to submit a report stating the number of jobs that have been saved through Recovery Act funding, the amount of state and local tax increases averted and specifically how the funds are used, according to Education.gov.

The preliminary report is to be sent in Oct. 10, Rhodes said.

“Schools send us information on how many jobs have been created and how have been saved,” Rhodes said.