Education jobs boost connected to stimulus

Report details effects of funding in D.C., Va., Md.

Federal economic recovery aid for education has created or saved more than 7,000 jobs in the District, Maryland and Virginia, according to a report by the government board assigned to keep track of stimulus spending, part of about 400,000 jobs preserved nationwide.

The report by the Recovery, Accountability and Transparency Board provided the first state-by-state breakdown of the jobs saved with $67.6 billion in federal aid provided by the Department of Education to the states through Sept. 30.

Education spending accounted for a large portion of the overall federal economic stimulus package, which injected $159 billion in grants and loans into the economy and had created or saved about 640,000 jobs, according to the board.

Overall, about 400,000 jobs were retained or created through the education funding. According to figures given to the federal government by the states, 325,000 were education jobs -- teachers, principals and other educators -- and an additional 75,000 were other public service positions. The District estimated that it had preserved 141 jobs; Maryland kept 2,671 jobs; and Virginia retained 4,543 jobs, according to the report.

Although Republicans and some critics have questioned the validity of the numbers, noting that unemployment is at 9.8 percent, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said the funding had averted a "catastrophe" for states hit hard by the recession.

"I shudder to think where we would be as a country if it were not for the [stimulus] funding," Duncan said in a telephone news conference Monday.

But state officials across the country have said that they are facing enormous pressure as they head into the next fiscal year. The National Conference of State Legislatures reported that 27 states are forecasting shortfalls for fiscal 2011 that total at least $61 billion, with five more states predicting unspecified budget shortages. Widespread state cutbacks would threaten a major source of school revenue.

The report did not provide the number of jobs lost despite the federal aid. A survey of 875 school systems by the American Association of School Administrators released last week found 13,422 positions slated for elimination in the 2009-10 school year.

Bruce Hunter, the associate executive director for the association, said that the Education Department's figures were believable but that the crisis is far from over.

"This year's going to be a day at the beach in comparison to next year," Hunter said. "We're hoping that they do some aggressive investment next year, because it will do what the stimulus did this year. It will keep a terrible situation from getting worse."

Duncan said the Education Department will do what it can, but he did not make any promises.

"We simply don't know where we are going to be down the road," Duncan said. "None of us have a crystal ball."