Stimulus money flows to Texas - bizjournals:

Danby DPAC12031
The funding will flow to local communities througgh a varietyof sources, including stimulus funding, local bond initiatives, disastert recovery programs and nonstimulus grants. The influ of dollars will result in thousands of opportunities to buildnew facilities, renovate and moderniz e existing buildings, upgrade and enhancs existing technology and provide infrastructurwe improvements. New and newly renovatex facilities also will requireupgraded furniture, fixtures and equipment. Despite all the talk surroundinb the American Recovery andReinvestment Act, the vast majoritty of funds have not yet startedc flowing.
A recent report statef that lessthan 6% of the totapl funding has been released by the federaol government. Watch for Texas schooll districts to receive large chunkxs ofthe funding. Some school districts alreadgy have authorization tobegin spending, but most of the activity is stilll a month or so This summer the Texas Education Agency will open an applicationn period for the $4 billion Statwe Fiscal Stabilization Fund — one of the largest federal stimulus programs.
The Stabilizatiob Fund is wrapped aroundgrant programs, and the money can be used by districtes for a variety of purposes such as modernizinb school facilities, upgrading technology purchasing technology products, building scienc e labs, buying education equipment and redesigning high school for more efficiency and student success. In the an additional $60 million will be made availablde to Texas school districts through a funding sourcr known asthe Ed-Tech grant program. This program funds the purchasde of technology to improve student Districts may also use the fundsd to buy technology to help with the management and analysis ofstudent data.
The Texas Watef Development Board will get a largd share of thestimuluzs funding. Because of that, the agenc has received $10.7 billion in funding requests for clean waterd and drinking waterinfrastructure projects. Eligible applicants will be notified of their allocations in June and July and entitiess should begin advertising for bids on the construction projects by Texas was appropriatedapproximately $2.6 billion in stimulux funds for transportation projects. Some biddinv processes have already begun, but the process will be rampinv upfor months. Although details are stilkl pending, the Recovery Act also provides funding for improving broadband service in rural andurban areas.
Depending on how the money is allocateein Texas, there is a potential for billionss of dollars to flow to local communities. And, in spite of the weak Texas voters approved morethan $1.3 billion in local bond electiona on May 9. The approved funding will financw capital improvement projects such as new andrenovatedf facilities, technology, large equipment purchases and improved infrastructure such as parkse and drainage.
Some of the larger bond packageds in Texas includethe following: • Colleger Station Independent School District : $144 million for a new high schoolk campus, new elementary school campus, new transportation renovations to the existing high school and the purchase of • Carroll Independent School Distric : $138 million for new schools, expansion of existinbg schools and an overhaul of technology infrastructure. City of Plano : $128.6 million for capital improvement prograkm projects forpublic safety, libraries, park recreation center improvements, street improvements and a technology service • Allen Independent School District : $119.
r million for a new athletic stadium, high school transportation maintenance and student nutrition center. • Midland County Hospitao District : $115 million for facility improvements to Midland Memoriak Hospital including a new patient towerwith 240-plu s beds, expanded emergency facilities and more telemetry Even more funding will make its way to Texax in the form of nonstimulue grants to school districts. A bill approvede earlier this month bythe U.S. House of Representatives wouldx provide Texas school districts withapproximatelh $600 million to modernize schooles and improve energy efficiency.
In the bill includes $600 million in separate fund s for public schools damaged by Hurricanes Katrinsand Rita. The programs discussed here represent only a few of the source s of federalstimulus funding. Therde are many other programs that will provide fundint for airportimprovement projects, port transit programs, improved security and more. Government contractorss should be loving life in Texasthese days.