The U.S. House approved $830 million worth of education funding for Texas on Tuesday as part of a broader emergency jobs bill that drew the support of Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco.

An Edwards press release cited Department of Education estimates that the bill would put $20 million into Congressional District 17, saving 401 jobs in various school districts.

A Texas Education Agency spreadsheet based on the same federal statistics shows Waco ISD would get $5.5 million and Midway ISD $247,000.

Chet Edwards (right) supported a House bill that provides education for the funding as Bill Flores (left) and others criticized a clause in the bill.

“This fully paid-for bill will prevent 14,500 Texas teacher and education layoffs and reduce the need to increase school class sizes and local property taxes,” Edwards said.

The legislation containing the money drew sharp criticism from Republicans because of a provision they see as tying the hands of Gov. Rick Perry and state legislators in terms of how the money can be spent.

Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, put Texas-specific language in the bill in response to the decision by Perry and state legislators to use more than $3 billion in last year’s stimulus money to replace state education funding rather than to supplement it.

State officials moved money originally tabbed for education to cover noneducation costs and balance the budget.

The provision said if Perry accepts the federal money, he must sign a document assuring the administration that the allotment will be “used to supplement and not supplant” state education spending.

It also required Perry to pledge not to decrease the portion of Texas’ budget that goes to education through the 2013 fiscal year.

Perry’s office said the state constitution binds him from committing future legislatures to certain spending targets, and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst called the bill “constitutionally flawed.”

Doggett told the Associated Press that Republican objections were “phony, legalistic arguments.”

Brock Gregg of the Association of Texas Professional Educators, one of the educational groups in favor of the Texas provision, said in a news release that “Gov. Perry is merely being asked to pledge not to cut education funding more than any other part of the state budget.”

In a news release, Edwards’ GOP challenger, Bill Flores, of Bryan, took issue with the Texas-specific provision and blasted Edwards for not opposing it.

“By failing to fight this terrible provision, Congressman Chet Edwards has endangered Texas schools, teachers and the education of our children,” he said.

Edwards responded to Republican criticism of the bill and of the provision by pointing to the broad support for both from numerous education associations.

“I agree with Texas’ teachers, school boards and administrators who believe that these federal education dollars should be used for education and not siphoned off for a state slush fund or noneducational purposes,” Edwards said.

The TEA, which has been critical of the provision, said Tuesday the language would require Texas to use a federal formula in divvying up the $830 million that would be more favorable to poor school districts than rich ones.

The agency built a spreadsheet tracking how much money school districts are set to receive using the federal formula and how much they would have received if the money were doled out based on a state formula.

Midway ISD would have fared better, to the tune of more than $766,000, under the state formula. China Spring ISD and Robinson ISD also would do better using the state formula. Waco ISD, however, would come out $3 million ahead under the federal formula. La Vega ISD similarly would be advantaged under the federal formula.

But all the districts’ budgets would receive a boost from the jobs bill.

mshapiro@wacotrib.com

757-5707

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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