Article from the journal

YEAH!!!Money for Technology
In these tough economic times it is nice to hear something positive about funding for the educational system!!

Stimulus Package Signed into Law; What It Means for K-12 Education
by Dave Nagel

United States President Barack Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, passed by the House and Senate Friday. The Act assigns significant funding to a variety of education and education-related programs, beefing up educational technology, broadband, and teacher professional development and providing funds that can be used for school modernization.

Speaking in Denver, CO Tuesday afternoon at the signing ceremony for the legislation, President Obama focused primarily on energy and jobs, but he also touched on the benefits of the stimulus package for education.

"The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act ... is the most sweeping economic recovery package in our history," President Obama said. "What makes this recovery plan so important is not just that it will create or save three and a half million jobs over the next two years, including 60,000-plus here in Colorado, it's that we're putting Americans to work doing the work that needs doing in critical areas that have been neglected for too long--work that will bring real and lasting change for generations to come--because we know we can't build our economic future on the transportation and information networks of the past. We are remaking the American landscape with the largest new investment in our nation's infrastructure since Eisenhower build an interstate highway system in the 1950s."

"Because we know America can't outcompete the world tomorrow if our children are being out-educated today, we're making the largest investment in education in our nation's history," he said. "It's an investment that will create jobs building 21st century classrooms and libraries and labs for millions of children across America. It'll provide funds to train a new generation of math and science teachers, while giving aid to states and school districts to stop teachers from being laid off and education programs from being cut."

He continued: "In a place like New York City, 14,000 teachers who were set to be let go may now be able to continue pursuing their critical mission. This is an investment that will create a new $2,500 annual tax credit to put the dream of a college degree within reach for million students, helping more of our sons and daughters aim higher, reach further, and fulfill their God-given potential."