Education waiver delayed
TALLAHASSEE (AP) – Florida must wait for more federal guidance before formally seeking a waiver needed to obtain about $2.2 billion in recovery aid for education in the next two budget years, the state’s “stimulus czar” said Thursday.
That could take another two weeks, Don Winstead told Gov. Charlie Crist during a meeting with agency heads.
Winstead, a special adviser on loan to Crist from his regular job as second in command of the Department of Children and Families, said the state received a waiver application Wednesday but cannot submit it until getting the updated instructions.
Florida needs a waiver from U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan to obtain what’s known as fiscal stabilization assistance because the state’s financial support for public schools has declined since 2006.
“We had some positive movement there but not absolute finality,” Winstead said.
No waiver is needed for other types of education stimulus money, including aid for special education and programs for low-income students. The stabilization dollars, though, make up most of about $3.5 billion in stimulus money state officials are expecting.