On February 17th, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law.  As part of the nation’s economic recovery strategy, this stimulus bill includes a significant investment in Pre K-12 and higher education aid for Oklahoma.

President Obama clearly articulated the connection between education and economic growth:  “Because we know American can’t out-compete the world tomorrow if our children are being out-educated today, we’re making the largest investment in education in our nation’s history.  It’s an investment that will create jobs building 21st century classrooms and libraries and labs for millions of children across America.  It will provide funds to train a new generation of math and science teachers, while giving aid to states and school districts to stop teachers from being laid off and education programs from being cut.”

These stimulus funds present Oklahoma schools with an unprecedented opportunity to boost our state's economy in the short run while increasing student achievement for the long-term.  Let me assure you that the State Department of Education is committed to ensuring responsible and accountable management of Oklahoma’s education stimulus funds.  Simply put, bureaucracy will not stand in the way of these resources being put to use for our state and in our classrooms. 

School leaders and local boards of education are now making decisions on how to best use these funds locally. To ensure a transparent process, we will post school district reports of expenditures on this Web page and make quarterly reports to the Federal Government.

Sincerely,
Sandy Garrett, State Superintendent