So, the big announcement from the federal government last week concerned the early distribution of $2.7 billion dollars to the states as part of the State Fiscal Stabilization Funds (SFSF) handed out under the aegis of the Department of Education. A press release provided the salient information.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today announced that more than $2.7 billion is being made available early to help states as they face increasing budgetary pressures. This funding represents that last third of the government services fund which was initially scheduled to be made available with the completion of Phase II applications as part of the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.

And New Hampshire, having gotten in its paper-work on time got $12,059,281. And the NH Department of Education was delighted, right? You heard all about it? Probably not.

Perhaps it's because the New Hampshire Department of Education is on vacation, that the arrival of this bundle of cash didn't get noticed on its News and Events page.

*"Response to Intervention" Focus of NH Educators Conference (July 29, 2009)

*National School Nurse Day (May 6, 2009)

*Commissioner of Education, Lyonel B. Tracy, has announced the 2009 Granite State Scholars. (April 2, 2009)

*Dropout Rates For the 2007-2008 School Year Have Been Released. (March 25, 2009)

*2008 NECAP Results and Information for grades 3-8 and 11, and NH Alt (January 21, 2009)

*School Calendars (December 17, 2009)

*Major Grant Supports New Four-State Partnership To Transform The High School Experience For The 21st Century (December 15, 2008)

Never mind the splash with which that Major Grant of ONE MILLION DOLLARS to be shared by four states was greeted last December.

New Hampshire and three other New England states announced Monday a regional partnership aimed at transforming high schools for the 21st century. This consortium will ensure that the academic performance and educational attainment of every student in Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont will be competitive with their peers worldwide. The Nellie Mae Education Foundation, the largest philanthropy in New England focuses exclusively on education, has committed $1 million—which includes a $500,000 partnership grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation—to provide initial support for the New England Secondary School Consortium.

"We must provide 21st century opportunities to prepare our young people for 21st century jobs and 21st century lives," Governor John Lynch said. "This grant and this new initiative will help to continue to ensure we are providing more New Hampshire young people with those opportunities."

Even the governor weighed in to welcome this windfall from Nellie Mae and Bill and Melinda Gates. Which leads me to wonder how come private eleemosynary initiatives, which get written off their tax obligations, get so much more attention (press release must be two pages, easy) than the tax dollars paid in by ordinary people? Where did the idea come from that charity is good, but paying one's fair share of public expenses is for chumps?

It's no wonder that the obligations of citizenship (like marriage) aren't often considered. The personal foibles and occasional gifts from the moneyed elite get so much more press. Wonder if they took note in California of the almost $358 million infusion to help bail that state out?

I just want to make one more point. Not only is citizenship a bundle of obligations (to vote, to hold office, to serve on juries, to enact laws, to enforce those laws and to pay taxes to support our agents) but because we're a free country, meeting these obligations is not only not coerced, but we can afford to accommodate a large number of free-loaders. But, isn't it time that we gave credit to those people who take their obligations seriously and let the free-loaders wallow in their selfishness?

I know all about the parable of the prodigal son, but it seems like it's time that the one percent hoarding most of the cash be informed that enough is enough. At least, let's not praise them to the skies for dropping a few crumbs. One million for four states! Give me a break!