The New York Times recently reported on several studies describing how various states throughout the country have allocated federal stimulus funds. Last year, Congress included approximately $100 billion for education in the stimulus law aimed at easing the recession’s impact on schools and driving an economic recovery. Experts are now concerned that a number of the country’s schools are facing a “funding cliff” for the upcoming school year, as districts struggle with how to pay for education costs that previously were covered by stimulus funds. In one study of 11 states, for example, nine states already had spent most of their federal stimulus funds during the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 school years, leaving a third or less of their federal funds available for 2010-2011. In another study, six of the twenty states surveyed had spent all of their fiscal stabilization funds during the current and previous years, leaving nothing for the 2010-2011 school year. To read the full text of this article, please click here.