State News

WASHINGTON – A $26 billion aid package is supposed to be passed by the House today. The bill should send Tennessee $239 million for Medicaid and $194 million for teacher salaries. This money could save teaching jobs in our state.

Tennessee's state budget problems have not led to teacher layoffs as they have in other states. Some preliminary calculation shows that it could make quite an impact if the state's budget issues keep worsening. The Republican gubernatorial candidate Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam thinks that after last week's preliminary election Tennessee may see a $1 billion budget deficit.

The teaching funds will go through the Department of Education and be distributed using the existing payment formulas. The money is restricted to elementary and secondary schools and only to retain existing employees, rehire previous workers and hire new ones.

The state does not have a breakdown of how the additional money would be distributed regionally, according to Amanda Anderson, spokeswoman for the state Department of Education.

The National Education Association thought that the additional funds from the government could save as many as 3,094 teaching jobs in our state, said executive director of the Tennessee Education Association, Al Mance. The US Department of Education thinks the money will save 3,700 jobs.

The state has 60,000 teachers and 136 school systems, said Mance.

Metro-Nashville districts are still awaiting the plan to see how much money they get, if the bill is finally approved. Most have not said what the money will go towards.

"We're waiting for the details to trickle down to our level," said James Evans, spokesman for Rutherford County schools.

The legislation passed in the Senate last week, surprising those who thought the bill to be dead. Tennessee's two Republican senators, Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, voted against the bill.

The money for education could start flowing ass soon as 45 days from now.

Tennessee has not been counting on the extra Medicaid assistance when it got its budget together for the fiscal year that started last month.

The legislature made a list of projects that would be funded if the extra funding were approved.

Some of those are:

• $120 million to community and technical colleges

• $90 million to go towards the Tennessee Highway Patrol's communication systems

The Tennessee Highway Patrol thinks that about half of the state has reliable radio communication.

"We have towers in the state that are aged and in need of repair," said Mike Browning, spokesman for the Tennessee Department of Safety.

• $60 million economic development projects, which includes $9.6 million for a 3,500-acre West Tennessee “megasite” near I-40 in Haywood County.

• $10 million for a small-business jobs fund

$341.6 million in contingency money was marked by the legislature. It was not obvious how less money would be distributed.

Congress has been debating the additional financial aid for months, due, in part, to the extra Medicaid funding for states that was included in the stimulus package will run out at the end of this year. The passing of the law was thought to be unlikely because of the upcoming election and growing concerns about federal spending and the swelling national debt.

The it went through the Senate, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California announced that the House would interrupt as soon as its August recess to return to Washington to put the bill to a vote. President Obama has said he will sign it.

Democrats are hoping that the vote will give their party'd candidates a needed boost of momentum as lawmakers head home for summer recess before congressional elections in November.

The showdown on the $26.1 billion aid package "defines the difference between the two parties," according to Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Angry Republicans have agreed.

"The American people don't want more stimulus spending," said House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio, "especially in the form of a payoff to union bosses and liberal special interests."