School districts to get $660 million

More than $660 million will be coming to local school districts to help low-income and special-education students.

The money the state Board of Education authorized Tuesday is for two separate areas. The first batch —- $324 million —- is for special education (IDEA) students. Of that amount, $10 million is for preschool students.

The second part —- $336 million —- is for low-income students (Title I). This money will be released to schools in two separate amounts, the first $168 million now and the remaining $168 million in September.

The second bucket of grants is to support, among other things, improving SAT, ACT and other achievement scores.

During a specially called meeting, the board unanimously approved a plan to begin distributing the money immediately to the 1,300 Title I schools in the state and to districts already receiving money as part of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

The funding is part of the multibillion-dollar stimulus fund set aside by the federal government to jolt the country out of its worst economic slump in decades.

Public schools and colleges also stand to receive a large part of Georgia’s $1.5 billion in stabilization money to offset state cuts. And the U.S. Department of Education will award about $5 billion in competitive grants to states and school districts for innovative programs.

The state will track how schools spend the stimulus dollars through a central software system developed a few years ago to improve accountability for how schools use federal funding, state schools Superintendent Kathy Cox said.

The federal stimulus legislation requires states to keep careful tabs on spending and perform audits to ensure the money isn’t misused.

Cox said staff made suggestions to local school districts about how they could use stimulus money but the districts don’t have to follow those recommendations.

The money is only available for two years, but Cox said the districts have been awaiting state board approval so they can use it.

“Yes, people know about the money, they know it’s coming, they know when it’s coming, they know how to keep track of it,” she said.

Yet, many of the school districts, including Cherokee, Fulton and Gwinnett, said they would firm up their plans to use the money after Tuesday’s board meeting.

Local districts have to submit a budget to the state school board before they can use the money, Cox said. The funds, she said, may prevent local districts from laying off workers —- and instead may allow them to expand certain programs and add staff.

“This comes at a very good time,” Cox said during the meeting.

A third bucket of stimulus money, the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, is designed to help restore funds the state cut, especially to public schools and colleges. This money is allocated through the governor’s office.

Georgia received its first batch of Fiscal Stabilization Fund money last month. The second is expected in the fall. To get the second part, states must explain how they will improve education in several areas, such as teacher quality and academic standards and exams.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.