Obama Seeks $60 Billion for Teachers, School Renovations

President Barack Obama shakes hands with House Speaker John Boehner as Vice President Joe Biden applauds before Mr. Obama speaks to a joint session of Congress last week.

—Evan Vucci/AP

By Alyson Klein

President Barack Obama is putting new money to save educators’ jobs and help states refurbish aging school facilities at the center of a nearly $450 billion plan to jump-start the sluggish economy.

But his plan—which calls for $60 billion in new education spending—is sure to face hurdles in a politically polarized Washington where one house of Congress is controlled by Republicans wary of federal spending increases.

The proposals that the president unveiled in a Sept. 8 speech to Congress , including $30 billion over two years to help preserve an estimated 280,000 teacher jobs, are certain to reignite arguments about whether the nearly $100 billion for education in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 lived up to its economic...