Washington - Today U.S. Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) announced that the Department of Education has distributed an initial $79.9 million from the recovery package to provide relief for the New Jersey educational system. This is part of $2.4 billion that the federal government is making available early through the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund to forty states that have already completed the Phase I applications.
"As we recover from this economic crisis, we must lay the foundation to compete in a 21st century economy and that begins by providing a quality education to our schoolchildren," said Menendez. "This funding will help our schools retain more quality teachers and ensure that our students have every opportunity to reach their full potential. It will also relieve budget pressures on our state and enable vital public services to continue."
"As we work to revitalize our economy, we must continue working to ensure our schools, colleges, students and teachers have the resources necessary to compete and succeed in a global economy," Sen. Lautenberg said. "These new federal funds will provide New Jersey schools with the support they need to educate our students and get through these tough economic times."
This $79.9 million is part of the $1.3 billion total New Jersey is scheduled to receive in State Stabilization Funds from the recovery package.
This portion of funding was originally intended to be made available after Phase II applications had been completed, but due to economic and budgetary struggles in many states the funding has been released after the completion of Phase I applications. The State Fiscal Stabilization Funds represent almost half of the $100 billion set aside for the Department of Education as part of the recovery bill.
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