More than 300 full-time positions are credited with being saved or created because of $142.5 million of federal stimulus funds injected into Vermont’s school system during the past two budget years.  

“These are jobs that are funded by ARRA money,” said Brad James, who serves as education finance manager at the Vermont Department of Education. Aside from payroll costs, the stimulus funds were spent on investments in technology among other areas, he said.

Nationally, there is a total of $97.5 billion in stimulus for education funding - the most education funding ever provided by the federal government.

“The federal stimulus program has made it viable for school districts in Vermont to preserve positions that would otherwise have been left vacant,” said Joel Cook, executive director of the Vermont-NEA. “Further federal assistance requiring the protection of school employee positions would help pull Vermont schools through what we hope are the end stages of this recession without compromising school quality.”

In Vermont, those stimulus dollars saved a laundry list of positions including teachers from pre-kindergarten through high school, teachers aides, guidance counselors, nurses, administrative assistants, clerical and secretarial support staff, athletic directors, audiovisual  and instructional technology staff, librarians, library support staff, superintendents, assistant superintendents, principals, assistant principals, business managers, maintenance and security staff.

Stimulus funds were sent to 271 of 280 districts in Vermont, James said. The remaining nine districts received stimulus funds through their union school districts. The funds are not itemized by district.

To read more about the stimulus program's impact in Vermont, click here.