Because of plummeting state and local revenues, many thousands of teachers--no one yet knows the exact number--have been re-hired with funds from the $100 billion in federal stimulus funds. One figure is 8,500 in Los Angeles Unified school District. 7000 of them have been re-hired. Another, Detroit closed twenty-nine schools and fired 1000 teachers.
In some areas layoffs have meant increase in class size. In Arizona many classrooms have forty to fifty students.
With only about one fifth of the stimulus money allocated and much of that not yet spent, slowly we see benefits of the stimulus funds. A huge percentage of the funds will be spent next year. Those who say the plan is not working are not well informed and have expected "instant" results.
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Comments: 16
(why some can't be - because they are just being partisan)
Aabsolutely!
I know from experience that the smaller the student numbers in a classroom, the better the education delivered. We need to preserve of schools at the very least during this time. Children cannot afford to be 'out of an education' for two or three years.