Senate Nears Vote on Stimulus, but Some Education Proposals May Be Casualties of Compromise

Washington, D.C., Feb. 7 — Under a compromise struck by Democrats and moderate Republicans, the Senate is poised to approve a scaled-back stimulus package that, while offering a boost to the economic health of state and local education agencies, would offer far less funding than the House for school construction and the stabilization of state education budgets racked by recent shortfalls.

Some details were not immediately available, and others were shifting rapidly, but in the next few days, the Senate is expected to pass a stimulus package with roughly $88 billion dollars in education funding. The Senate's original bill would have provided about $140 billion for education.

Though President Obama is reportedly supportive of the compromise, some of the changes are likely to generate an intense battle when the House and Senate begin conference negotiations on the bill next week.