Today Dustin Matocha pointed out that billions of dollars in stimulus funds were made available to Texas schools for the express purpose of giving school districts "the resources to avert cuts and retain teachers." The funds were part of the 2009 stimulus bill, and districts had to apply by August of 2010 to receive money for the 2011 fiscal year.
Dustin has discussed a few of the largest districts in the state, but here is a list of Williamson County districts and the amounts available to them according the Texas Education Agency.
Georgetown: $2,799,487
Hutto: $1,698,706
Leander: $8,237,018
Round Rock: $11,447,966
Taylor: $1,511,796
While I am sure the districts are very happy to have these extra funds, it is important to remember that these are one-time disbursements. Unfortunately, it seems districts quickly become addicted to these extra funds and expect continued bailouts without scrutiny of the way they spend precious education dollars overall. A better approach would be to encourage school districts to reform spending with a focus on educating children.
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