$2.9 billion will go to California’s 500 worst schools

“About one in three of the state’s worst-performing schools will get a share of nearly $3 billion in funding dedicated to helping them improve academic achievement. Although around 1,455 schools are eligible for the money, only 500 will receive funding for the seven-year program so the money can be targeted to the neediest schools for a greater impact, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell said Monday. ‘This is not the panacea, but this is a targeted, strategic investment in schools that need the most help,’ O’Connell said. The $2.9 billion package is part of a deal between Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the state’s largest teachers’ union, the California Teachers Association, to help settle a lawsuit over money the governor borrowed from schools to balance the 2004-05 budget.”