Pennsylvania Governor Told to Apply Again for Stimulus

The U.S. Education Department has told Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell that he needs to apply again for education stimulus funds because he left out of the application four "state related" institutions, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The institutions -- Lincoln, Pennsylvania State, and Temple Universities and the University of Pittsburgh -- asked the department to intervene when Rendell left them out of state plans for the stimulus. Rendell maintains that because state appropriations make up a smaller share of the budgets at these institutions than at the state-owned colleges, he should be able to focus funds where they can have the greatest impact. There is a long history of the "state related" universities guarding their relative independence from state oversight compared to the other public colleges. While the Education Department backed the universities on the stimulus application, Rendell aides said that the decision does not require the governor to actually distribute funds in any particular way, so it is unclear how much of a victory the universities won.