Stimulus Money Gone Wrong

http://ednews.org/articles/for-schools-use-of-stimulus-money-falls-short-of-big-hopes-.html

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-07-07-stimulus_N.htm

It seems as though the good intentions of the government to stimulate the economy has fallen short as state governments are simply using stimulus funds to fill gaps and holes in their budgets. In the world of education, it is every more apparent. Nothing hits closer to home for me than the drastic cuts Governor Sonny Perdue is making in Georgia. Instead of using the federal money available to the state to support the educational system and fund long awaiting expansions in state education, the legislature has pared back education spending levels to pre-2005, which goes against the rules for using the federal stimulus money. My wife has taken 3 unpaid furlough days that are being spread out over 6 pay periods and I am taking 3 furlough days with each furlough being taken out of the pay period the day falls in. So she will be seeing $50 less every month until December, while I will see almost $200 taken out this month and being a late hire this past year will see an already reduced check, reduced even more because of the lack of consistency and faithfullness of our governing body to take action. The money given to education in the stimulus package was meant to save jobs and save programs in danger of falling through because of lack of funding, instead money has been diverted to fill large deficits that governors don't want to have. It saddens me to see such little emphasis on education and the funding of it in the state of Georgia, yet when national figures are released and Georgia sits near the bottom of the 52 states and territories in terms of graduation rates and testing, there is uproar from citizens and the local governments. Little to no money in the state has been used to save the cuts that were made in educational employees at the end of last year and has now allowed the state of Georgia to not honor the contracts we signed to work for 190 days at XXXXX amount of dollars.
Despite this, almost all road projects and other "job-generating" projects are underway and other areas of state and national concern are still waiting on money. The easiest way to stop these things are to join professional organizations that put lobbyists in our legislators ears that can make a difference. As a member of 2 Tech Ed organizations, I know that my rights and opinions are being taken into account and members of the state and national legislatures are trying to fight for teachers at various levels who are being neglected because of the economic downturn.