When the federal government started dangling billions of stimulus dollars for education in front of states, many snapped up the money right away.
By now, the last day to request stabilization funds, all but one state has submitted an application.
That one is Texas.
“We haven't received Texas' application yet, but we are hoping they will submit one,” Elaine Quesinberry, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Education, said late Tuesday.
Texas anticipates receiving more than $3 billion in stabilization funds, the largest appropriation. It's money that can be used to turn around failing schools, create student assessments or develop data systems.
Most states have not only applied for the funds, but had their requests approved.
“We are working on it and we will have it in by the deadline,” Allison Castle, a spokeswoman in Gov. Rick Perry's office, said Tuesday of the state's application.
In California, the first state to apply, money has already been distributed to local school districts, said a spokeswoman for the state's department of education.
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan had pressed states to pick up the pace several weeks ago.
“We have an urgent need to reform our schools and prevent teacher layoffs,” he said May 18. “The Department is turning around applications within nine days on average. States that have not yet applied need to do so now.”
Quesinberry said she wasn't sure what would happen should Texas blow the deadline.
“They have until 4:30 p.m. Eastern,” she said. “We're just hoping and expecting that they will submit it.”
Northside Independent School District Superintendent John Folks said he was confident Perry would make the deadline.
“Why he waits until the last day, I can't answer that question,” Folks said.
He remains miffed, however, by state lawmakers' decision to award raises to teachers and some other employees using stabilization funds.
“They supplanted the state budget instead of supplementing the state budget,” Folks said, adding that he was concerned about what will happen to the raises once stimulus dollars dry up.
“Is the state going to step up and fund the money for these salaries?” Folks said. “I'm concerned about it, I think every superintendent in Texas is concerned about it.”
Worried that the federal funds may not materialize, some districts have passed one compensation package that includes the extra money and a contingency plan that does not.
“We fully expected that we'd start the school year without any answers,” said Deb Caldwell, a spokeswoman for North East Independent School District, which planned for both scenarios.
Quesinberry said Tuesday that at least a portion of the stabilization money — called the Government Services Fund — could be used for salary increases.
According to a Texas Education Agency breakdown, more than 80 percent of the money Texas anticipates receiving falls outside that category, however, and Duncan has cautioned against using stimulus money to replace state spending on education.
