There have been plenty of state leaders making a big deal about taking - or not taking - federal stimulus money for education. It seems that the deciding factor seems to be the ideological stance of the governor, not the needs of schools, but the money is flowing (maybe) to places it's needed - Maryland special-ed programs seem to be among the first in line.

A primary concern of many district and state leaders, however, is just how long this gravy train will last. Stimulus programs are limited in scope and duration, and the funding won't last forever. Many districts fear the coming fiscal years when the influx of federal funding ends, but the programs it supports must continue (ever tried to eliminate a public education program? Ugly business).

If this is the case, where should schools look for funding? Public and private grants will only go so far, and until the economy improves to the point that tax revenues increase, the pain will continue.

Even more startling, if federal funding dries up, how long will states accept federal regulation? This Congressman seems to think this is the direction public education is heading; is Arne Duncan really so open to that possibility? Maybe.

UPDATE: As Education Week reports, there is another concern for schools and states recieving stimulus funding, as well as their normal federal funding: fulfilling their legal requirements. Schools in the District of Columbia will lose some $480,000 dollars for not meeting the requirements of its "state performance plan". The Dept. of Education has, in the past, designated D.C. a "high-risk" grantee due to "problems in ... fiscal and program accountability, managament systems, and related areas", and offered "technical assistance"; the indicators not met seemed to have more to do with D.C.'s reporting of the data than their actual educational performance. It's unclear if the issues raised in this 2008 letter are related to the issues which caused the DOE to pull funding, but you can bet that all states and principalities will be watching how these performance plans will tie into the money they recieve.

To give a contrast, Kansas met it's state performance plan requirements *insert gloaty nyah-nyah dance here*.