Private Sector Competes for Share of Stimulus Pie

Both for-profit and nonprofit organizations are being tapped to play roles.

The competitive funding for education under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has caught the attention not only of school reformers, but of business leaders.

With the largest single pool of federal education dollars in history flowing to states and school districts, education-related companies have been looking to gain a share of the cash, marketing themselves as uniquely equipped to help with improvement efforts.

“The money has to be spent by 2011, and districts are going to need more hands on deck than they’ve got, so that is a good thing,” said Lee Wilson, the president of San Antonio-based PCI Education, which specializes in special education curricula, textbooks, and other materials. “It accomplishes the larger objective of the...