Colorado, Connecticut, New Mexico, and Wisconsin Will Receive Funds to Support Education Jobs

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today announced that Colorado will receive $159.5 million, Connecticut will receive $110.5 million, New Mexico will receive $64.9 million, and Wisconsin will receive $179.7 million to support education jobs.

"There is a huge sense of urgency to get these funds out the door. I commend these states for being among the first to submit their applications and thank our team at the Department for making funds available within a matter of days," said Duncan. "These education dollars will help these states keep thousands of teachers in the classroom working with our students this school year."

The $10 billion education fund will support education jobs in the 2010-11 school year and be distributed to states by a formula based on population figures. States can distribute their funding to school districts based on their own primary funding formula or districts' relative share of federal Title I funds.

Over the last two years, the Department has been able to support 300,000 education jobs through stimulus funding provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. At this time, seven states have drawn down 100 percent of previously allocated jobs funding, while 18 states total have drawn down 80 percent or more. A July report from the independent Center on Education Policy found that 75 percent of school districts that received stimulus funds expect to cut teaching positions in the upcoming school year.