Mass. Gets $58.7 Million to Bolster Struggling Schools (MA)

July 13, 2010

Massachusetts will receive $58.7 million in federal funds to help turn around the state’s lowest-achieving schools, the US Department of Education announced today.

About 100 schools across the state , including 35 designated as "underperforming" by the state, will be eligible to compete for the money, said Heidi Guarino, chief of staff at the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The prevailing schools, approximately 40 of them, will each receive $500,000 annually for the next three years, starting this fall.

In anticipation of the announcement, Boston and other districts have been putting together funding proposals, which must include adopting one of the school-overhaul plans developed by the Obama administration, such as forcing teachers to reapply for their jobs. The funding is part of $3.5 billion in federal stimulus dollars the Obama administration is distributing to states to address failing schools.

"It’s going to be a very competitive process," said Guarino, noting it was a condition of the federal grant. "Schools with the strongest plans will have the resources to put it into place."