One year ago today, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was enacted with the goal of keeping our recession from turning into a deeper Depression, and saving and creating jobs. A year later, it’s clear that the Recovery Act pulled our economy back from the brink of financial collapse, protected teachers, policemen, firefighters, and other vital workers from losing their jobs, and made strategic investments in education reforms and worker training that will help lay the groundwork for a long-term economic recovery. Newspapers from coast to coast have documented how the Recovery Act has helped students, workers and families:
PROTECTING EDUCATION FOR STUDENTS OF ALL AGES
“A year later, it’s clear that the stimulus package averted tens of thousands of teacher layoffs nationwide, and mitigated deep cuts to school programs.” [Education Week, 1/5/10]
“Public colleges and universities had one of their leanest years on record in 2008-09 and only a $2.4 billion infusion of federal stimulus money staved off fiscal disaster…” [Washington Post, 2/12/10]
SAN FRANCISCO, CA: Recovery Act funding saved tens of thousands of public school teacher jobs. “In California, the stimulus was credited with saving or creating 62,000 jobs in public schools and state universities. Utah reported saving about 2,600 teaching jobs. In both states, education jobs represented about two-thirds of the total stimulus job number. Missouri reported more than 8,500 school jobs, Minnesota more than 5,900. In Michigan, where officials said 19,500 jobs have been saved or created, three out of four were in education.” [San Francisco Gate, 10/13/09]
EL PASO, TX: Recovery funding of nearly $1 million for Pell Grants allowed two Anamarc Educational Institute campuses, in El Paso and Santa Teresa, to increase enrollment by over 10% while continuing to offer financial aid to their students. “Last year, 88 percent of Anamarc students were receiving Pell Grants.” [El Paso Times, 11/22/09]
SEATTLE, WA: Recovery dollars will allow 108 more Washington State kids to enroll in Head Start programs. The funding boost will also create 14 new jobs in early education. [Seattle Post Globe, 2/4/10]
LEBANON, PA: Pennsylvania’s Lebanon County schools received 1.5 million in Recovery Act aid, allowing the area to improve special education programs and bolster Title 1 expenditures, a program that helps low-income students improve their math and reading skills. [LD News, 1/30/2010]
WALNUT CREEK, CA: $3.7 million in recovery funds will allow Cal State Long Beach, a California public university, to add about 600 courses in the fall- a move that will restore many cut classes. CSU Chancellor welcomed the aid, saying, "Hopefully this will help to alleviate some of the shortages in classes, and students will be able to make faster progress toward their degree." [Contra Costa Times, 2/8/10]
TRAINING WORKERS FOR CAREERS OF THE FUTURE AND PROVIDING YOUNG AMERICANS WITH OPPORTUNITIES TO SERVE
“The last year has shown — just as economists have long said — that aid to states and cities may be the single most effective form of stimulus.” [New York Times, 2/17/10]
OMAHA, NE: The state of Nebraska was awarded $4.8 million in recovery dollars that will fund “job training in wind energy, biofuels and sustainable, environmentally friendly building technologies”. The money is expected to provide 860 Nebraskans with job training. [Nebraska World Herald, 1/22/10]
LEWES, DE: A Recovery Act grant of over $150,000 saved an endangered Delaware-based Americorps program, the AmeriCorps Youth Conservation Corps. The summer program employs teenagers “to perform maintenance and restoration work” at the treasured Cape Henlopen State Park. [Cape Gazette, 6/25/09]
WHITTIER, CA: California’s Mt. St. Antonio College received $2.2 million in recovery funds “to train more than 100 displaced workers for new jobs” in expanding industries including health care, biotech, green industries, aviation and manufacturing sectors. [Whittier Daily News, 2/12/10]
HACKENSACK, NJ: New Jersey’s Passaic Community College received $4.5 million in Recovery Act funding that will train workers for new positions in health care and education. A local reporter noted, “Local non-profit agencies and hospitals will partner with the college to train people for more specialized health care jobs as part of the program.” [NorthJersey.com, 2/13/10]
HONOLULU, HI: Due to recovery funding, “53 [Hawaii] jobs were created in the AmeriCorps community volunteer program”. [Honolulu Advertiser, 2/2/10]
KETCHUM, ID: The state of Idaho received nearly $6 million in Recovery Act aid to “to prepare workers for careers in energy efficiency, renewable energy and other ‘green” occupations. In response to the funding, Idaho Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter said, “This grant will give Idaho workers access to training in green industries that will lead to career-path jobs in energy efficiency and renewable energy.” [Idaho Mountain Express, 1/26/10]
“A year later, it’s clear that the stimulus package averted tens of thousands of teacher layoffs nationwide, and mitigated deep cuts to school programs.” [Education Week, 1/5/10]
“Public colleges and universities had one of their leanest years on record in 2008-09 and only a $2.4 billion infusion of federal stimulus money staved off fiscal disaster…” [Washington Post, 2/12/10]
SAN FRANCISCO, CA: Recovery Act funding saved tens of thousands of public school teacher jobs. “In California, the stimulus was credited with saving or creating 62,000 jobs in public schools and state universities. Utah reported saving about 2,600 teaching jobs. In both states, education jobs represented about two-thirds of the total stimulus job number. Missouri reported more than 8,500 school jobs, Minnesota more than 5,900. In Michigan, where officials said 19,500 jobs have been saved or created, three out of four were in education.” [San Francisco Gate, 10/13/09]
EL PASO, TX: Recovery funding of nearly $1 million for Pell Grants allowed two Anamarc Educational Institute campuses, in El Paso and Santa Teresa, to increase enrollment by over 10% while continuing to offer financial aid to their students. “Last year, 88 percent of Anamarc students were receiving Pell Grants.” [El Paso Times, 11/22/09]
SEATTLE, WA: Recovery dollars will allow 108 more Washington State kids to enroll in Head Start programs. The funding boost will also create 14 new jobs in early education. [Seattle Post Globe, 2/4/10]
LEBANON, PA: Pennsylvania’s Lebanon County schools received 1.5 million in Recovery Act aid, allowing the area to improve special education programs and bolster Title 1 expenditures, a program that helps low-income students improve their math and reading skills. [LD News, 1/30/2010]
WALNUT CREEK, CA: $3.7 million in recovery funds will allow Cal State Long Beach, a California public university, to add about 600 courses in the fall- a move that will restore many cut classes. CSU Chancellor welcomed the aid, saying, "Hopefully this will help to alleviate some of the shortages in classes, and students will be able to make faster progress toward their degree." [Contra Costa Times, 2/8/10]
TRAINING WORKERS FOR CAREERS OF THE FUTURE AND PROVIDING YOUNG AMERICANS WITH OPPORTUNITIES TO SERVE
“The last year has shown — just as economists have long said — that aid to states and cities may be the single most effective form of stimulus.” [New York Times, 2/17/10]
OMAHA, NE: The state of Nebraska was awarded $4.8 million in recovery dollars that will fund “job training in wind energy, biofuels and sustainable, environmentally friendly building technologies”. The money is expected to provide 860 Nebraskans with job training. [Nebraska World Herald, 1/22/10]
LEWES, DE: A Recovery Act grant of over $150,000 saved an endangered Delaware-based Americorps program, the AmeriCorps Youth Conservation Corps. The summer program employs teenagers “to perform maintenance and restoration work” at the treasured Cape Henlopen State Park. [Cape Gazette, 6/25/09]
WHITTIER, CA: California’s Mt. St. Antonio College received $2.2 million in recovery funds “to train more than 100 displaced workers for new jobs” in expanding industries including health care, biotech, green industries, aviation and manufacturing sectors. [Whittier Daily News, 2/12/10]
HACKENSACK, NJ: New Jersey’s Passaic Community College received $4.5 million in Recovery Act funding that will train workers for new positions in health care and education. A local reporter noted, “Local non-profit agencies and hospitals will partner with the college to train people for more specialized health care jobs as part of the program.” [NorthJersey.com, 2/13/10]
HONOLULU, HI: Due to recovery funding, “53 [Hawaii] jobs were created in the AmeriCorps community volunteer program”. [Honolulu Advertiser, 2/2/10]
KETCHUM, ID: The state of Idaho received nearly $6 million in Recovery Act aid to “to prepare workers for careers in energy efficiency, renewable energy and other ‘green” occupations. In response to the funding, Idaho Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter said, “This grant will give Idaho workers access to training in green industries that will lead to career-path jobs in energy efficiency and renewable energy.” [Idaho Mountain Express, 1/26/10]
