Texas files suit to free up $830 million in school funds stuck in political stalemate
01:38 PM CDT on Thursday, September 23, 2010
WASHINGTON — Texas went to federal court today to pry loose $830 million in federal aid intended to help avert teacher layoffs.
The funds — Texas' share of a $10 billion jobs package Congressapproved last month — have been caught in a crossfire between Gov.Rick Perry and his Democratic critics in Congress, who inserted a provision requiring Texas to promise that its share of education spending won't be cut before 2013.
Perry says the state constitution precludes him from making such a promise. Two weeks ago, the Education Department rejected his application for the funds – enough to protect 14,500 jobs in schools statewide – saying it had to abide by the congressional mandate,