Candace Cortiella, executive director of The Advocacy Institute and friend of the blog, has told me about a new project of hers, IDEA Money Watch. The Web site will attempt to track how states use the $12.2 billion in stimulus funding that is coming to them over the next two years.
Cortiella has given Maryland a special commendation for pulling together easy-to-follow information on the performance of every district in the state. As mandated by the federal government, districts are ranked on performance indicators in four categories: meets requirements, needs assistance, needs intervention, needs substantial intervention.
Any district that is not ranked as “meets requirements” has some restrictions on how it can spend its stimulus dollars. (See April 13 U.S. Department of Education guidance here.)
To get an idea of what Maryland has done--and what other states SHOULD do, in the name of transparency--click here.