Jeff Bingaman United States Senator from New Mexico

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall today said the U.S. Department of Education will soon release an additional $86 million to New Mexico to support the state's schools.  New Mexico has already received $491 million for schools through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, bringing the total to $577 million.

"State budgets across the country remain extremely tight, but I am convinced that the Recovery Act is having a positive impact.  Without this investment in New Mexico's schools, there would have been very deep cuts in education budgets throughout the state -- with devastating consequences for students," Bingaman said.

"The Recovery Act has prevented job losses and budget cuts from hitting our schools, keeping teachers in the classroom and making sure young people receive the quality education they deserve," Udall said. "During these tough economic times, I can think of no better investment."

Previously awarded funds are as follows:

• $ 232,437,894 in State Fiscal Stabilization funds through their successful completion of part 1 of the application. The State Fiscal Stabilization Fund program is a new one-time appropriation of $53.6 billion distributed directly to states to:
• • Help stabilize state and local government budgets in order to minimize and         avoid reductions in education and other essential public services.
  • Help support the modernization, renovation, and repair of school and college facilities.
  • Help advance early learning through post-secondary education reforms to benefit students and families.
• $80,803,396  in Title I funds. The Recovery Act provides $10 billion in additional Title I, Part A funds to state education agencies (SEAs) and local education agencies (LEAs) to support schools that have high concentrations of students from families that live in poverty in order to help improve teaching and learning for students most at risk of failing to meet state academic achievement standards.
• $103,635,430 in IDEA funds. The Recovery Act provides $12.2 billion in additional funding for Parts B and C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).  Part B of the IDEA provides funds to state educational agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) to help them ensure that children with disabilities, including children aged three through five, have access to a free appropriate public education to meet each child's unique needs and prepare him or her for further education, employment, and independent living. Part C of the IDEA provides funds to each state lead agency designated by the Governor to implement statewide systems of coordinated, comprehensive, multidisciplinary interagency programs and make early intervention services available to infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families.
• $5,138,804 in Education Technology Grants. The Recovery Act provides $650 million in additional funding for Education Technology Grants.  The primary goal of the Education Technology Grants program is to improve student academic achievement through the use of technology in schools. It is also designed to help ensure that every student is technologically literate by the end of eighth grade and to encourage the effective integration of technology with teacher training and curriculum development.
• $4,426,362 in Vocational Rehabilitation Funds.  The Recovery Act provides $540 million in additional funding for the Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) State Grants program. The VR State Grants program provides grants to states to help individuals with disabilities, especially those individuals with the most significant disabilities, prepare for, obtain, and maintain employment.
• $456,213 in Independent Living Services Funds.  The Recovery Act provides $140 million in additional funding for the Independent Living (IL) programs. The IL programs support services to individuals with significant disabilities and older individuals who are blind to maximize their leadership, empowerment, independence, and productivity, and to promote the integration and full inclusion of individuals with disabilities into the mainstream of American society.
• $548,313 in McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance funds. The Recovery Act provides $70 million under the McKinney-Vento Education for Homeless Children and Youth program to assist States and local educational agencies (LEAs) in addressing the educational and related needs of some of the most vulnerable members of our society – homeless children and youth – during a time of economic crisis in the United States.
• $55,647,916 in Pell Grants have been awarded to students attending schools in New Mexico. Pell Grants are awarded based on student applications, not by state.  The Recovery Act provides $17.1 billion in additional funds for students across the country in need of Pell Grants. The Federal Pell Grant Program provides need-based grants to low-income undergraduate and certain postbaccalaureate students to promote access to postsecondary education. Students may use their grants at any one of approximately 5,400 participating postsecondary institutions. The additional funding allowed the Department of Education to raise the maximum Pell award from $4,731 to $5,350.
• $1,220,391 in Work Study funds have been awarded to students attending schools in New Mexico. The Recovery Act provides an additional $200 million to the Work-Study program, providing colleges and universities with additional funding to provide jobs to students to help with their college and living expenses.
• $4,254,203 in Impact Aid funds for construction activities, including the preparation of drawings and specifications for school facilities; erecting, building, acquiring, altering, remodeling, repairing or extending school facilities; and inspecting and supervising the construction of school facilities.
• $1,207,185 in School Improvement Grants. The Recovery Act provides $3 billion in School Improvement Grants to support the transformational changes that are needed to turn around the nation's persistently lowest-achieving schools by using rigorous school intervention models.
• $ 2,047,098 in the Teacher Incentive Fund to continue programs to support the development and implementation of a performance-based teacher and principal compensation system, based primarily on increases in student achievement, in high-need schools.