Congress intended that the funding in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act should provide for the immediate needs of the state’s cash strapped schools. My colleagues and I recently sent a letter to Governor Schwarzenegger expressing the that this funding should be transferred from the state to schools and colleges as soon as possible. As we noted in our letter:

The purpose of the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund is to help stabilize local government budgets and minimize or avoid harmful cuts to education programs and services, to keep teachers in the classroom, and to support modernization, renovation, and repair of school facilities. It is imperative that local educational agencies receive stimulus funds as soon as possible so they can appropriately adjust their budgets to address these challenges.

Thousands of California teachers will be laid off in coming weeks without the infusion of ARRA funds. We implore you to provide for the immediate needs of the state’s already cash-strapped schools by taking all available steps to prevent these layoffs. It has been brought to our attention that there may be unresolved issues at the state level about the administration and allocation of the federal ARRA funds that could delay distribution. We encourage you to address these issues quickly. The U.S. Department of Education stands ready to provide technical assistance to you in these matters.

Read the letter we sent to Governor Schwarzenegger about education funding.