Arizona Education Network

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On July 1, 2010, the House of  Representatives passed the Fiscal Year 2010 Supplemental Appropriations Bill (H.R. 4899) authorizing $80 billion in spending for troop increases in Afghanistan.  The bill also contained a provision to appropriate $10 billion for the Education Jobs Fund.  The Education Jobs fund is designed to provide aid to districts to retain teachers that would otherwise be laid off.

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In an effort to be fiscally neutral, the amendment also contains a number of rescissions, actions taken by the president in which he or she proposes not to spend all or part of a sum of money appropriated by Congress to existing programs.  Specifically, the amendment would rescind $800 million allocated to the Department of Education for “new discretionary awards”.  This would reduce funding for the next round of the “Race to the Top” grant program.  The White House, in a release following passage by the House, threatened a veto of the bill if the final version contained the $800 million in cuts to the education grant programs.

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The Education Commission of the States estimates that Arizona would receive $211 million if the amendment in its current form becomes law.  This would translate to 3,621 teacher jobs saved in the state.

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According to a release from the House Committee on Appropriations, “[i]n order to receive an Education Jobs Fund grant, each State must provide assurance that State spending for both K-12 and higher education (measured separately) in fiscal year 2011 will be at or above either:

1. the fiscal year 2009 level (in aggregate or per pupil);
2. the same percentage share of the total State budget as in fiscal year 2010, or;
3. for states demonstrating especially dire fiscal conditions, the 2006 fiscal year aggregate dollar level or percentage share.”

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The Senate will take up the bill when it returns from the Fourth of July recess.

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For additional information, see below:

House Passes $80 Billion War Spending Bill, New York Times, July 1, 2010

House Consideration of the 2010 Supplemental Appropriations Act:  Amendment on Fully Offset Education & Other Funding, U.S. House Committee on Appropriations, July 1, 2010

Tags: arizona education, Arizona Legislature, Education jobs fund grant, k-12 education funding, Race to the Top

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 7th, 2010 at 7:46 AM and is filed under Education Funding and the Budget, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.