Harkin Proposes Job Aid for Cash-Strapped Schools
More money for schools contemplating layoffs, furloughs, and other cuts? It could happen if a bill set to be introduced this week by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, gains traction.
Harkin, who is the chairman of both the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, and the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that oversees education spending, is set to release a bill that would provide $23 billion to help schools keep teachers and other staff on the payroll, once funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act dry up (the so-called "funding cliff"you've heard so much about).
The measure's $23 billion Education Jobs Fund would be based on the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund in the economic-stimulus package, according to Harkin's office. The money could be used for compensation and benefits to hold onto existing employees and to hire new staff to provide early childhood, K-12, or post-secondary services. It could also be used for on-the-job training for "education-related careers."
This bill matters because the Senate has been the hold-up when it comes to edu-job aid. The House of Representatives approved legislation late last year that would also include $23 billion in new education aid. That bill passed by a
