More money for Title 1

Just came over the AP wire:

HOLYOKE, Mass. (AP) - Gov. Deval Patrick has announced $163 million in federal stimulus money will go to high-poverty schools in Massachusetts.

The governor said Thursday that the Title 1 federal grants, designed to help schools with high concentrations of low-income students, will go toward 258 school districts, regional technical and vocational schools, and charter schools.

The grants supplement the amount of Title 1 money Massachusetts already receives annually, which was about $233 million last year.

Officials say the first half of the money is scheduled to be distributed in July with the second half coming in the fall.

Through this funding, Holyoke's first half allocation is over $3 million. Other cities and towns receiving large amounts of money in July include Boston with almost $21 million, Springfield with $8.6 million, and Worcester with almost $4 million.

Title 1 is low-income money; it goes to schools with a certain percentage of students on free and reduced lunch. All but three Worcester schools are Title 1 schools.