Schools to Begin Receiving Economic Stimulus Money

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, center left, and Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, speak to a...

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, center left, and Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, speak to a class at Doswell Brooks Elementary School, including student Jeisy Escobar, 11, right, after a news conference about education stimulus funding, in Capitol Heights, Md. on Wednesday, April 1, 2009. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

(AP)

Education Secretary Arne Duncan released the first $44 billion in economic stimulus money directed to schools Wednesday but said strings will be attached to the next round of aid.

The Obama administration views the stimulus as a chance not only to save thousands of teachers' jobs but to overhaul the nation's failing schools.

"This is an historic opportunity, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, to lay the groundwork for a generation of education reforms," Duncan said Wednesday at Doswell Brooks Elementary School in the Washington suburb of Capitol Heights, Md.

Duncan chose the school because it has significantly boosted achievement despite high numbers of poor and special education children, a challenge that often overwhelms urban schools like Doswell Brooks.

After announcing the stimulus news in the library, Duncan visited two classrooms with Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley. They took turns reading the book "New Tricks I Can Do!" to first-graders and talked about President Barack Obama to fifth-graders..

"It's not just being president," Duncan said. "You can be smart like the president, right?

Obama's first order of business when he took office in January was passage of his economic stimulus bill, which provides an unprecedented amount of money for schools — double the education budget under President George W. Bush — over the next two years.

The administration on Wednesday made available half of the dollars for federal programs that pay for kindergarten through 12th grade and special education. In addition, Duncan will provide applications for states to get money from a special fund to stabilize state and local budgets.

However, loopholes created by Congress could let states and school districts spend the money on other things, such as playground equipment or new construction. It also could let lawmakers cut state aid and replace it with stimulus dollars, leaving school districts with no additional aid as local tax revenues plummet.