Stimulus $ Could Be Used to Rehire Teachers in NJ
With New Jersey governor Chris Christie deciding he'll apply for newly approved federal funding for education, it's thought many teachers laid off in budget cuts may be coming back, if only for a year or two.
KYW's David Madden reports that the state is in line for some $270-million in stimulus money which could more than cover the 3,000 teacher layoffs statewide prompted by Christie's cuts in education funding.
Frank Belluscio, spokesman for the New Jersey School Boards Association, says districts are ready to take the money and run:
"We have heard from superintendents who say they will gladly accept the money because they can easily rehire people and restore positions that they feel are truly needed."
It appears districts could spread out the money once they get it over two years. That, paired with Christie's pending "tool kit" of legislative reforms aimed at reducing costs, will make it easier to exist under a new 2-percent cap on tax increases.
