Gov. M. Jodi Rell today announced that Connecticut has been approved to receive nearly $542 million in federal stimulus funds that will be disbursed as state aid to local school districts to support education.
"This is tremendous news and much-needed relief for local districts and their taxpayers. These funds will help them save jobs and provide quality education to our children," Governor Rell said. "The federal stimulus law gives Governors the discretion on where these funds should be applied and I firmly believe that in these serious economic times the most prudent use is to keep state education aid at current levels and not burden local taxpayers."
The stimulus funds will help the state maintain current funding levels to all 169 municipalities through its Education Cost Sharing Formula program (ECS). Approximately $2.8 million of stimulus allotment will finance a teacher mentoring program - a requirement under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The Governor said the state was notified Friday by the U.S. Department of Education that its application was accepted. Federal education officials praised the state for its thorough and comprehensive document.
"We have worked very hard to secure any and all stimulus funds for which Connecticut is eligible," Governor Rell said. "The education funds are a significant portion of that and are essential to help stabilize local budgets for the next two years."
The state's ECS grant program distributes approximately $1.9 billion a year to cities and towns to support education spending. To track education stimulus funds and other ARRA initiatives in Connecticut can be found on the state's official stimulus Web site at: www.ct.gov and click on the CT Recovery link.
