Volume I, No. 10

January 22, 2009

House Appropriations Committee Passes Stimulus Bill

By David Walrath -- dwalrath@m-w-h.com and Anna Ferrera -- aferrera@m-w-h.com

The $550 billion Federal Stimulus Appropriations bill has passed the House Appropriations Committee and will next be heard by the full House of Representatives. The $275 billion federal tax stimulus bill is in the Ways and Means Committee.

The bill contains increased funding for the Title 1 Part A Targeted Grant formula ($5.5 billion) and for the Education Finance Incentive Grants formula ($5.5 billion).  It does not include new money for Title 1 Basic Grants or Title 1 Concentration Grants.  School improvement grants would receive a new $2.0 billion.

It includes additional money for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) ($13.6 billion) of which $6.0 billion for IDEA Section 611 (state and local funding) would be available July 1, 2009 and $7.0 billion would be available July 1, 2010.

The House Appropriations Committee recommendation for school modernization as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provides:  

• School Modernization and Repair Grant Program - $14.0 billion
• Education Technology Program -$1.0 billion.

Over a two-year period, the school modernization and repair funding for California would be approximately $1.5 billion or $750,000,000 per year.  The proposal includes a small school district minimum of $5,000, which is for a two-year period. 

To find your districts’ estimated allocation of these funds, click here to visit the link provided by the House Education and Labor.

The Federal Appropriations Stimulus package is not completed; it is still subject to amendments and subject to Senate action which could be significantly different than House action.  If the Senate acts differently than the House, there will be a conference committee required prior to the final proposal going to the President.  The House of Representatives Federal tax stimulus package is expected to have $20.0 billion in school construction and renovation tax credit bonds.  The Bottom Line will report on that program once the Ways and Means Committee acts and releases information.