January 24, 2009

$20 million for Unified in stimulus proposal?

The latest estimates from Washington now show that Wisconsin could receive more than $3.2 billion from the latest stimulus proposal under discussion -- the American Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Almost $20 million of that would come to Racine Unified School District.

The figures, given to Wispolitics.com by LaCrosse Rep. Ron Kind, D-WI, 3rd District, come from the House Appropriations and Transportation and Infrastructure Committees, and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Among the largest blocks of money, the state would receive:
$1.1 billion for the state fiscal stabilization fund
$563 million for highways and bridges
$317 million for education, modernization, renovation and repair
$231 million for Individuals with Disabilities Act
$180 million for Title 1 (Education)
The full breakdown of projected state funding is here:

Details of Wisconsin's educational allocation are listed as "estimated grants only." Accepting that caveat, "provided solely to assist in making comparisons of the relative impact of alternative formulas as part of the legislative process" ... here's what's listed for Racine:

2009
Title 1-A increase: $2,715,300
Construction: $7,495,100
IDEA increase: $3,004,400
  • TOTAL: $13,214,700
2010
Title 1-A increase: $2,715,300
IDEA increase: $3,455,500
  • TOTAL: $6,170,700
How much would other states receive? Here's the state-by-state comparison.

8 comments:

  1. Do not start spending now, there is NO MONEY.

    THIS COUNTRY IS BROKE

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  2. That's a grand idea. Improving education for our future generations. I think it's a noble effort. But maybe we really need to look at the big picture (holding kids accountable in the process and holding teachers accountable)Reward the teachers that excel and help our children learn and prosper and show the teachers the door who don't

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  3. Interesting but pure conjecture at this point. Remains to be seen what Congress will actually do with the Obama Administration's proposals.

    WHO is going to hold our very own Rep. Paul Ryan's feet to the fire? He seemingly wants to have things both ways (support in theory; oppose on principle.) Let's not forget, Rep. Ryan dutifully carried water for the Bush Administration for nearly 7 years before becoming an "independent" voice.

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  4. Am I missing something here?

    "Wisconsin could receive more than $3.2 million from the latest stimulus...."

    "Almost $20 million of that would come to Racine Unified School District."

    How do you get $20 million out of $3.2 million? Did somebody find the solution to this whole economic mess without really knowing it.

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  5. Anon 3:45: No, I was missing something: Wisconsin's expecting $3.2 billion with a B. Thanks for the catch.

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  6. The education system has to be improved with the stimulus. The kids need to be educated to the point that they can get good jobs to afford to repay the debt that all the borrowing is creating. The money isn't falling from the sky over Washington DC so todays kids and their kids are going to be the ones paying off all the debt.

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  7. Ah, hello all you intellectual giants! The "stimulus" is supposed to stimulate the economy. How is dumping one more dollar in any school district going to stimulate the economy?

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  8. Sorry, before we start bickering about who gets what when Uncle Sam starts dealing out the money, let’s put things in perspective.

    Where’s the other $200+ million dollars that should come to Racine citizens?
    $825B stimulus ÷ 300M citizens = $2,750/citizen
    82,000 citizens in Racine x $2,750 = $ 225.5M
    I know that tax cuts are part of the $825B, which throws off my simple math…but even so. That’s a lot of money leaving Racine to pay for this stimulus and very little coming back to Racine.

    In short, if you just look at this stimulus thing as a “What am I getting out of it?” question, we’re getting screwed if the best thing we’ve come up with is a mere $20M for Unified.

    So even if you’re for putting stimulus money into education, you should be against this stimulus because you (and your kids) will be spending tons of money and the vast vast vast majority of it will be going to spending/projects/pork outside of Racine, WI.

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