The recently passed Education Jobs Bill will pump $26B in federal aid to cash-strapped states in order to save teacher positions and other municipal jobs, but according to an analysis by education policy blogger Jason Becker, the likely impact for Portsmouth would be less than $40K.

Based on the spreadsheet posted on Becker's blog, Portsmouth would likely receive around $36K if the money is distributed based on the ratio used for Title I (low-income district) funding. If the funds were distributed using the recently approved state education funding formula, the district could get as much as $143K.

According to a RI Department of Education (RIDE) spokesperson quoted in the ProJo, it was "likely" that the Title I scheme would be used. At last Tuesday's school committee meeting, Supt. Susan Lusi said that she had not heard definitively from RIDE which formula would be used, and said, "I do not know what that would mean for Portsmouth."

Obviously, anything that helps in our current crunch is appreciated, and even $40K could help keep or expand time for a teacher. But based on Becker's analysis, this isn't going to be a magic bullet.