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Stimulus Reporting Advances

Districts expected to account for first round of spending

Faced with their first reporting deadlines for economic-stimulus aid to education, school districts are toiling over how every stimulus penny has been spent so far and how many jobs have been saved—numbers that will be scrutinized not just by the public, but by government auditors as well.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, passed by Congress in February, earmarked about $100 billion for education, and the first quarterly spending reports are scheduled to be made public on Oct. 30.

So far, details of how the stimulus money has been spent have been largely anecdotal, making the Oct. 30 date a key milestone in the Obama administration’s goal of assuring that the $787 billion stimulus program...