Watching the money...

It looks like the money is going where it was intended--to save teachers--in Massachusetts, but that is not the case nationwide:

• Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle wants to fill a budget gap.
• Idaho Gov. Butch Otter wants to hold the money in reserve.
• South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford wants to pay down debt; he's been turned down by the White House budget office and is threatening to refuse some of the money, as is Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

What exactly the federal government can do about this depends on which part of the money we're talking about:

Of the $100 billion for education in the stimulus bill, $40 billion comes as part of a fund to stabilize state and local budgets that has fewer strings attached. As the bill made its way through Congress, lawmakers decided not to prohibit states from using the stabilization money to replace precious state aid for schools. That means instead of getting extra help to weather tough times, school districts could wind up with no additional state aid even as local tax revenues plummet.