In April 2010, Senator Tom Harkin, Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, proposed the creation of a $23 billion emergency fund as part of the “Keep Our Educators Working Act (S.2306).” It would create an Education Jobs Fund modeled after the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund that was established in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (commonly referred to as “the stimulus package”). U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is a very vocal supporter of the measure.
An estimated 300,000 educators—teachers, principals, librarians and counselors around the country—are facing layoffs. Ninety percent of school administrators expect to lay off staff and faculty in the coming school year. As was the case in the initial stimulus legislation, it is unclear how much of this funding would reach higher education, and whether it would be used for facilities or personnel. The bill has been forwarded to the Senate HELP committee, and we are tracking any developments. Hearings have yet to be scheduled.
AAUP Action – An action alert was sent to thousands of AAUP members and members of the larger higher education community. Recipients were asked to call their representative’s in Congress and explain why higher education funding needed to be restored, and why Congress needed to pass the “Keep Our Educators Working Act”.