U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today announced that nearly $130 million is now available for Maine under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. This funding will lay the foundation for a generation of education reform and help save hundreds of thousands of teaching jobs at risk of state and local budget cuts. Maine will be eligible to apply for another $63.8 million this fall. Today's funding is being made available per Maine's successful completion of Part 1 of the State Stabilization Application, which was made available April 1.

"The $130 million Maine will receive today is part of the single largest boost in education funding in recent history," Duncan said. "The President's leadership and support from Congress have made this historic investment possible. Maine can now utilize these funds to save jobs and lay the groundwork for a generation of education reform."

To date, Maine has received more than $49 million in education stimulus funds--representing a combination of funding for Title I, IDEA, Vocational Rehabilitation grants, Independent Living grants, Impact Aid dollars and Homeless Education grants. On April 1, Maine received more than $18 million in Title I funding and nearly $29 million in IDEA funding. This amount represents 50 percent of the total Title I and IDEA funding for which Maine is eligible. On April 1, Maine also received nearly $1.3 million in Vocational Rehab funds and $362,911 in Independent Living funds. In addition, on April 10, the state received $57,077 in Impact Aid funding and $186,722 in Homeless Education grants.

In order to receive today's funds, Maine provided assurances that it will collect, publish, analyze and act on basic information regarding the quality of classroom teachers, annual student improvements, college readiness, the effectiveness of state standards and assessments, progress on removing charter caps, and interventions in turning around underperforming schools.

Maine is also required by the U.S. Department of Education to report the number of jobs saved through Recovery Act funding, the amount of state and local tax increases averted, and how funds are used.

To view Maine's application, please visit: http://www.ed.gov/programs/statestabilization/resources.html.

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