The guidelines of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act are of special interest to us, especially the spending Title I and IDEA part B fundsand their allocation. These are funds that local school districts will have some flexibility on decisions for spending.
For instance, New Mexico school districts could use Title I funds to pay for additional time for professional development to help make up for the salary decreases caused if House Bill 854 is signed to increase retirement withholding by 1.5 percent. Also, districts that receive IDEA part B funds may be able to spend up 50 percent of their stimulus grant on operational needs. However, new guidance from the US Department of Ed indicates that only school districts that receive a determination under IDEA 616 of "meets requirements" can take advantage of this flexibility. Only 19 districts met requirements last year, although many more are expected to meet requirements this year. Your school district should be able to give your this information or it will be available on the PED web site.
The U.S. Department of Education's web site has a number of significant documents on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
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