A $245M Problem? Not Exactly

The state may not risk losing as much federal funding as former state senator John Goedde first claimed. On Tuesday, Idaho Education News reported that if the state fails to give assessment tests to 95 percent of Idaho students, it could lose $245 million in federal funding. At an IPRAC meeting, Goedde, appointed by the governor to help sort through  Idaho Education Network issues, gave the $245 million as another reason the legislature should continue funding the embattled IEN. While IEN isn’t the only broadband provider for all of Idaho’s schools, it is the only option for some. Where’d that figure come from? According to Tim Corder, special assistant to Superintendent Sherri Ybarra, that’s all of the federal money the state receives for public education, including USDA money for school nutrition programs. Of that, about $62 million is Title I money , which is directly tied to No Child Left Behind, Corder said. If the state doesn’t comply with the assessment requirement in the waiver agreement, it would initially lose about one percent of that $62 million — money used for administrative costs, according to Corder/ Melissa Davlin , Idaho Reporters. More here.

Thoughts?