Rather than continue to play political games with $700 million in federal stimulus funding for schools, Gov. Mark Sanford should have simply agreed to use the money as intended. The drama grows wearisome, and public schools and colleges need the assistance.<\/p>\n
On Friday, the governor’s office insisted that it had met the deadline for stimulus funding by filing paperwork with the White House. Maybe so, but Mr. Sanford continues to maintain that the money won’t go to schools, as Congress intended. State Education Superintendent Jim Rex rightly questions whether the governor’s latest gambit will pass White House review.<\/p>\n
“The White House has made it clear, on two separate occasions, that federal stabilization funds can’t be used to retire state debt,” Dr. Rex said. “These funds are aimed at creating jobs and saving jobs. For the governor to get his way, the General Assembly would be forced to create some sort of bookkeeping sleight-of-hand that, believe me, the federal government isn’t going to permit because the law approved by Congress doesn’t permit it.”<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, Gov. Sanford continues to insist that restoring school budgets with stimulus funds would be a dangerous precedent for the state. In a column on our Commentary page, he essentially declares that the budget problem doesn’t exist.<\/p>\n