President Barack Obama on Tuesday signed a $26 billion state aid package that includes an estimated $435.8 million in education and Medicaid assistance for Tennessee and $550.3 million in similar help for Georgia.
Earlier in the day, U.S. House members voted 247-161 to pass the $26 billion measure, designed to help save the jobs of teachers and employees in cash-strapped states. Senators approved the bill last week.
Federal figures show some $240 million coming to Tennessee in enhanced Medicaid funding. That's less than the $341.6 million state officials expected, but it still frees up state money to be spent in other areas.
Another $195.8 million would help K-12 education systems keep teachers on the job or rehire laid-off personnel.
Georgia would see $228 million in enhanced Medicaid money and $322.3 million for education, records show.
The Tennessee General Assembly this spring laid out contingency plans for spending the Medicaid assistance.
The top priority is $100 million for community college capital projects, said Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen's press secretary, Lydia Lenker.
All told, the Volunteer State will target $120 million in capital outlay for community colleges and priority technical schools.
Second on the list is $9.6 million to help pay for a West Tennessee industrial megasite. Critical access hospitals would see $10 million, and there is $10 million for a "jobs opportunity fund."
The next ranked priority is $90 million for a new Tennessee Highway Patrol communications system. It's not clear whether the state will have enough money to fully cover that.
Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue's press secretary, Bert Brantley, said officials expected $375 million in Medicaid assistance for 2010-2011.
"It's kind of a tale of two stories there," Brantley said. "When you compare it to zero, it's something that's helpful, obviously. But when you compare it to what we budgeted it's not as much."
Officials in both states, meanwhile, aren't sure how they will be allowed to use the education money.
"We didn't plan teacher layoffs in our budget, and because those federal dollars are targeted to preserve jobs, we're not sure we can use that part of the funding," Lenker said.
Thanks to retirements and resignations, Hamilton County Schools anticipates only a handful of layoffs, officials said.
Tennessee Education Association President Gera Summerford said the governor and state lawmakers "have been very protective of education funding."
Summerford said TEA did not have exact numbers on how many school staff lost their jobs last year, but she said it was more than the 3,000 the state would be able to hire with the federal grant money.
Perdue spokesman Brantley noted the teacher funding "came on late, quite honestly. We're still sorting through what that would mean."
U.S. Rep. Lincoln Davis, D-Tenn., who voted for the measure, said, "ensuring our hospitals have the continued funding to meet the medical needs of Tennesseans and making sure we have teachers in the classrooms drove my decision. Equally important, the bill is paid for in part by closing tax loopholes that allow large corporations to ship American jobs to foreign countries."
Staff writer Kelli Gauthier contributed to this story.
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