California Watch

State Senate leader Darrell Steinberg on Friday urged legislators to ensure the state fulfills its spending commitment to education, in light of a federal decision to delay stimulus funds over accounting questions.

State Sen. Darrell Steinberg

The U.S. Department of Education informed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office earlier this month that no decision will be made on the state's application for an upcoming round of stimulus funding until the concerns raised by school districts and education advocates are addressed.

A coalition of community groups, including Public Advocates and Californians for Justice, complained to federal authorities that the state's financial commitment to public schools didn't comply with the minimum levels required to qualify for the stimulus.They also accused the governor's office of deferring school funding to future years but manipulating numbers to make it appear as if payments to districts were occurring in the present.

The state must respond to the charges by March 26 or risk losing up to $200 million in stimulus relief.

While speaking from the state Senate floor Friday, Steinberg urged his colleagues to comb the governor's budget numbers to make sure no fuzzy accounting surrounds the state's minimum "maintenance of effort" on school spending.

In a press release, John Affeldt, managing attorney at Public Advocates, one of several groups whose complaint triggered the federal action, applauded Steinberg's stance while continuing his criticism of the Governor's office.

This is the first time the U.S. Department of Education has put any state's money on hold to investigate whether it is meeting its minimum education spending requirements under the stimulus act. We're glad Senator Steinberg has recognized the significant threat the State's manipulations pose to California education.We urge the Legislature to increase the dollars for public education so that we're actually making at least the minimum required effort to support our schools and not just shifting numbers on some accountant's ledger. It’s vital that the State receive this money, and we’re shocked the Governor’s office would put these funds at risk with questionable budget maneuvers.