Officials with Richmond County schools say $32 million in federal stimulus money will save 400 jobs in that district over the next 2 years. Nearly $9 million of the money has already helped to balance out severe cuts to state funds made earlier in the year and helped to pay more than 800 teacher’s salaries through the month of October. The remaining money will be used for a variety of things including funding a summer school program, intervention specialists and academic coaches, and providing instruction materials for special education students. Lou Svehla says the stimulus money came at just the right time:

"Any time you can keep the positions and the teachers and the different staff that’s needed to make sure that you have a successful school system it’s huge. Especially in light the other cuts that we’ve had to make anything that we keep will certainly make us better in the future."

Officials with the Richmond County Board of Education say they received more stimulus money than some surrounding districts because of their large number of Title 1 schools.

Tags: education, jobs, teachers, budget cuts, federal stimulus money, state budget, Richmond County Board of Education