Grants

ARRA Section 1512 Quarterly Reporting Corrections Period
From TEA: There is one week left in the Continuous Corrections Period for ARRA Section 1512 Quarterly Reports for the quarter ending June 30, 2010. On August 9, 2010, TEA opened the Expenditure Reporting (ER) system to allow corrections to ARRA Section 1512 quarterly reporting data submitted for the quarter ending June 30, 2010. Sep 3, 2010, 08:41

Gov. Perry: Washington Politics Restrict Texas Education Funds
(Letter Attached) Gov. Rick Perry today sent a letter to school administrators across the state detailing his efforts to try to access the $830 million in federal funds for Texas schools that Lloyd Doggett’s anti-Texas amendment to the federal emergency education jobs bill (H.R. 1586) has jeopardized. Doggett’s amendment requires the governor to make assurances that the Texas Legislature will make specific funding commitments, which is a violation of the Texas Constitution. [ View Article ] Sep 3, 2010, 08:39

Education's less-than-certain windfall
It sounded at first like the best of news for South Carolina. The $26 billion jobs bill passed by Congress earlier this month would send $143.7 million to the state, which has lost between 2,800 and 3,900 teaching jobs over the past two years. Instead, after taking a look at the bill’s fine print, state education officials found a flaw that could deprive them of that money. A set of provisions in the bill requires states to have kept up their level of higher education spending this year, something South Carolina did not do. The bill, which offers money only for K-12 schools, included the higher education funding requirement as a holdover from previous drafts of the legislation. [ View Article ] Sep 3, 2010, 08:35

Education Jobs Bill funding estimates posted by TEA
Important Review! The Texas Education Agency has received a number of inquiries regarding the impact of the Doggett amendment to HR 1586, also known as the Education Jobs Bill. The amendment creates additional hurdles that only Texas must overcome to draw down the $830 million that is allocated for Texas public schools, including making Texas the only state required to use federal Title I formulas instead of state funding formulas to distribute these funds to school districts. Click on the link below to view a spreadsheet that shows the amount of funding that districts would have received with and without the additional hurdles put in place by the Doggett amendment. [ View Article ] Sep 2, 2010, 08:39

School officials examine Perry's incentive proposal
Area school officials still are trying to figure out how they might cash in on partnership incentives announced by Gov. Rick Perry in Abilene on Tuesday, but many question the plan’s logistical and financial feasibility for some of the Big Country’s larger school systems. Perry announced the plan at a local magnet school before a campaign event elsewhere in Abilene. He said the program would reward districts for partnering with other schools, counties, cities, or even businesses to provide administrative services such as accounting, human resources, transportation and facilities use. [ View Article ] Sep 2, 2010, 08:39

TEXAS Grants Face Big Cuts Next Session
Rashad Deckard has something going for him that eludes many of his peers in Palestine, his hometown. In December, he'll graduate with a bachelor’s degree in business marketing from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville. “People who come from small towns, we have few role models,” he says, “especially in the black community." "They see me in college and the things I’m doing,” he says of younger Palestine students, “and it makes them want to go to college.” [ View Article ] Sep 2, 2010, 08:32

Grant to identify potential gang members
Brownsville police are using a grant from the governor's office for a new program aimed at identifying young men and women who are involved, or run the risk of becoming involved, in gangs, said police spokesman Detective Eddie Garcia. The Gang Prevention and Coordination Initiative kicked off operations Tuesday night, he said. [ View Article ] Sep 2, 2010, 07:50

Smithville Elementary wins Lowe's grant
Smithville Elementary School will soon have its very own Outdoor Learning Center thanks to a generous grant from Lowe's. Ana Murray, principal of Smithville Elementary, said a commercial sales representative at the Lowe's in Bastrop contacted her this past January, informing her about the 2010 Lowe's Toolbox for Education grant. [ View Article ] Sep 2, 2010, 07:50

Perry outlines school incentive during Abilene visit
Incentive Proposal: Gov. Rick Perry unveiled an incentive proposal in Abilene on Tuesday that’s meant to save school districts money, but it is unclear if the Abilene or Wylie school districts would immediately benefit. The program would reward districts for partnering with other schools, counties, cities, or even businesses to provide administrative services such as accounting, human resources, transportation and facilities use. Districts that participate would receive a one-time grant worth 10 percent of the amount saved by partnering with another entity. Cities, counties and private entities that partner with school districts would not receive an incentive. [ View Article ] Sep 1, 2010, 08:40

Perry should break the stalemate that is holding up money for public schools
Education Jobs Funds: We urge Gov. Rick Perry and state leaders to break the political stalemate that is holding up $830 million in extra funds slated for Texas schools. Our public schools need the money; many are balancing budgets this year by using money from their rainy day funds. Austin is transferring about $6 million from its fund balance to make improvements without raising taxes, and teacher pay increases are on hold. The Austin district could use the $17.5 million in federal aid; Round Rock could use the $1.6 million; and Killeen sure could use its $5.1 million share. [ View Article ] Sep 1, 2010, 08:38

TEA cuts school bus seat belt money
AUSTIN — The Texas Education Agency said state budget cuts mean less money will be available to equip new school buses with seat belts, a law legislators and Gov. Rick Perry called a safeguard for children when they approved it. The state allocated $10 million to the program in the budget approved last year, but TEA plans to use only $3.6 million, because of budget cuts. The money was supposed to have been available to reimburse school districts beginning this September, but bureaucratic snags could delay distribution. “We shouldn’t let TEA subvert this bill and the law of the state,” said Sen. Eddie Lucio, a Democrat from Brownsville who pushed for the legislation. Lucio said Tuesday he’s confident funding will be restored. [ View Article ] Sep 1, 2010, 08:27

Abilene group 5th in grant contest
This morning, Hardin-Simmons University’s student body was set to fire up smart phones and laptops, casting mass votes in the hope a soft drink company will pour down some cold cash on an Abilene service organization. [ View Article ] Aug 31, 2010, 07:35

$830 million in federal education aid remains in limbo
A high-level meeting of state and federal officials aimed at finding a way for Texas to access $830 million in emergency education aid failed to produce a clear path forward, according to the Texas Education Agency. “This afternoon’s meeting was cordial, with all parties trying to get these education funds flowing to Texas classrooms as quickly as possible,” Education Commissioner Robert Scott said in a statement. “Regrettably, Lloyd Doggett’s amendment, which requires the governor to make assurances that the Texas Legislature will make specific funding commitments in violation of the Texas Constitution, also makes it virtually impossible for the U.S. Department of Education to grant a waiver that would allow Texas access to the funds,” Scott continued. [ View Article ] Aug 30, 2010, 08:37

State tries to access federal education funds held up by rule
READ!Jobs Funds - State and federal education officials met in Washington on Friday but did not come to an agreement over $830 million in extra school funds Texas stands to receive. "While today's meeting did not produce an immediate solution, we will continue to work with the Department of Education and others to determine the best path forward to try to access these funds for Texas schools," Education Commissioner Robert Scott said in a statement. Scott and the governor's senior adviser Mike Morrissey met with U.S. Department of Education Deputy Secretary Tony Miller and are working on a way to allow Texas to get the money despite conditions placed on the grant. [ View Article ] Aug 30, 2010, 08:37

Texas education chief is in Washington to discuss $830 million in potential school aid
More than $830 million in education funding is at stake today in a meeting between Texas and Washington education officials. Texas Commissioner of Education Robert Scott is meeting with U.S. Department of Education officials this afternoon in Washington, working on a way to allow Texas to get the money despite statutory conditions placed on the grant. Those conditions are at the center of a dispute between Republican Gov. Rick Perry and a leading congressional Democrat from Texas, Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Austin [ View Article ] Aug 30, 2010, 08:36

Texas Education Commissioner leaves Washington without $830 million for education
Jobs Funds: The state's top education official, who went to Washington in pursuit of $830 million in federal education aid, left empty-handed Friday but said the state hasn't given up the fight. Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott and Mike Morrissey, a senior adviser to Gov. Rick Perry, met with Deputy Education Secretary Tony Miller to discuss how the state can get its share of the $10 billion approved by Congress this month. The money is intended to help save an estimated 161,000 education jobs across the country, including 14,500 in Texas. U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, got a special Texas-only provision inserted into the bill that imposes stiffer requirements on how the state can spend the money. A major sticking point with the state's Republican leadership is a requirement that the state maintain its share of education funding at the same level for three years. [ View Article ] Aug 30, 2010, 08:36

Texas to apply for $830M in education aid from Washington
Texas will apply for about $830 million in education aid from Washington even though officials are expecting a legal fight over the money. Tarrant County area districts and public charter schools would receive between $42.6 million and $59.7 million from the federal legislation, according to estimates from state officials. But it's not a given that all school districts would gain funds under the plan – some could lose funding. Gov. Rick Perry has said that to comply with a provision in the adopted bill that put stiffer requirements on Texas would be a violation of the state constitution. [ View Article ] Aug 30, 2010, 08:36

Texas will seek $830M in federal education aid
READ! Top state officials said Thursday that it is unlikely Texas will be able to secure $830 million in emergency education aid from Washington without a legal fight. But Ray Sullivan, chief of staff to Gov. Rick Perry, said Texas will apply for the money nonetheless, despite questions about whether the state can comply with a federal job measure's more onerous provisions that apply only to Texas. "We are going to try to find ways to get that $830 million into the classrooms of Texas and overcome the terrible hurdles put up by Congressman (Lloyd) Doggett," Sullivan said, adding, "I'm not optimistic that we will be able to overcome Congressman Doggett's anti-Texas provisions." Perry envoys are meeting with federal education officials today to see how they might comply with those provisions. [ View Article ] Aug 27, 2010, 08:36

USDOE Education Jobs Fund Webinar
TASBO: The U.S. Department of Education has been hosting a series of webinars for state representatives to walk them through the Education Jobs Fund application. If you are interested, the Department will host an Education Jobs Fund application webinar, specifically for association leaders, on Monday, August 23, at 2:00 p.m. Please follow the link below to register. If needed, you will receive a call-in number after you register. Space is limited, so please try to limit the number of participants per organization. [ View Article ] Aug 23, 2010, 08:39

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AWARDS $28.8 MILLION TO SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO IMPROVE READINESS AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLANS
School districts across the country will be able to improve and strengthen their emergency management plans as a result of $28.8 million in grants awarded today by the U.S. Department of Education. The Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) discretionary grant program will enable 98 school districts in 28 states to improve plans that address all four phases of emergency management: Prevention-Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery. “No student should feel unsafe in school,” U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said. “The fact is that no school can be a great school until it is a safe school first, and these grants will support that effort.” [ View Article ] Aug 22, 2010, 07:10

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