Congresswoman Kathy Castor announced today certain Recovery Act dollars that will be directly targeted to the Tampa Bay area community as early as the end of this month.

“Education dollars will be allocated to Florida by the end of the end of March,” Castor said. “This money will immediately flow directly into the hands of our school districts and the private sector vendors they partner with, helping to create and preserve jobs and educate our students. This funding will especially help students with disabilities, students from low-income families and students needing help paying for college.”

Two initiatives that will quickly receive additional money are IDEA and Title I. IDEA, or Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, helps make sure students with disabilities – such as students with autism, students who are blind and students with mobility challenges – receive the educational services they deserve and by law must receive.

Florida will receive an additional approximately $620 million for IDEA students. Half of the money will be distributed to the state at the end of March.

Title I schools contain a large percentage of children from working-class families. The Recovery Plan targets additional money to these schools to hire highly qualified staff to promote high academic achievement. Florida students in Title I schools will receive an additional approximately $500 million. Half of the money will be distributed to the state at the end of March. Among other things, it can be used for early childhood programs and activities.

Pell Grants, which help students pay for college, will be available in July, just in time to help students with the new school year. Florida students are slated to receive an additional $936.5 million for this program over two years. The maximum Pell Grant increases from $5,350 in 2009 to $5,550 in 2010.

“Billions of dollars headed to Florida’s schools and families will be a tremendous help to our economy” Castor said. “As some of the largest employers in the region, our school districts and the thousands of employees, students and families need help. Additional funding means more people keep their jobs, more jobs are created and our students receive the top-notch educations they deserve.”

Florida will also apply for $2.7 billion through the state stabilization fund initiative. The application will be available by the end of March. Florida can opt to apply to receive 67 percent of its allocation right away because of the severe budget shortfall. The money will be available to the states two weeks after the application is approved by the Department of Education. This money will help avoid layoffs while investing in education.

Money from the Recovery Act already is helping the Tampa Bay area. A few examples:

* The city of Tampa will receive about $1 million in additional Community Development Block Grant funds and more than $1.5 million in Homeless Prevention funds.

* Tampa International Airport plans to use $12 million to build an elevated taxiway

* Tampa Police Department will use $1.7 million for public safety, including overtime for police in mall parking lots during the holidays; for Tasers; and for satellite phones, in-car video systems and wiretaps.