Even though you’re surely wrapped up in March Madness, make time for these good reads:

Members of California’s congressional delegation sent a letter to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and other top officials to correct some apparent thinking that’s been going on. “It has been suggested that the state has some ability to intercept stabilization funds...It does not.” So says the letter signed by the delegation, which includes House education committee Chairman George Miller. This letter showcases the tensions between Congress, states, and local districts over how stabilization money should be doled out to school districts, how quickly, and to whom.

Gabriella Gomez is the latest to join the education department’s senior ranks. She’s been tapped to direct the department’s legislative affairs. Now the senior education policy adviser on the House education committee for U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), she’s also a former AFT lobbyist.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is rejecting some stimulus money, including $160 million in Title I and special education dollars. That does not make the Anchorage schools superintendent very happy.

Elizabeth Green over at Gotham Schools has the latest on KIPP schools vs. the unions.

And the Washington Post does a bit of fact-checking and corrects Arne Duncan that no, D.C. Public Schools do not have “more money than God.”

UPDATE: For a rundown of Arne Duncan’s rah-rah speech to science teachers, check out Curriculum Matters.