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August 28, 2010

Texas to seek $830M in federal education aid

Associated Press

AUSTIN — Texas will apply for about $830 million in education aid from Washington, but state officials, making a push Friday to get the money to their schools, expect a legal fight over the money.

Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott was in Washington Friday to meet with federal education officials. He said the meeting produced no solution to a special Texas provision in the federal spending bill. The provision places stiffer requirements on how the state can spend federal education money.

Gov. Rick Perry has said that to comply with the provision, he would be violating the state constitution.

“While today’s meeting did not produce an immediate solution, we will continue to work with the Department of Education and others to determine the best path forward to try to access these funds for Texas schools,” Scott said.

Perry Chief of Staff Ray Sullivan told the Austin American-Statesman that they’ll look for ways around the requirement that the Texas governor assure that the state would maintain a level of education spending for the next three years. Perry and other Texas Republicans, including Attorney General Greg Abbott, argued that Perry would have to violate the state constitution to provide that assurance because the governor can neither dictate state spending nor bind a future Legislature to a certain level of spending.

The money is intended to help school districts cope with the economic recession and avoid layoffs.

“We are going to try to find ways to get that $830 million into the classrooms of Texas and overcome the terrible hurdles put up by Congressman (Lloyd) Doggett,” Sullivan said, adding, “I’m not optimistic that we will be able to overcome Congressman Doggett’s anti-Texas provisions.”

Also Friday, House Speaker Joe Straus and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst wrote a letter to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan urging him to be flexible.

Doggett, an Austin Democrat, said the additional mandate for Texas was necessary because last year, the state used much of the stimulus money meant for education to replace, rather than augment, state education dollars.

Earlier this month, federal Education Department officials said they wanted to work with the state to ensure it got its allotment.

The state’s application is due Sept. 9.

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