The National Journal's new Education Experts blog fired up on Monday with the question: "What's The Best Use Of Stimulus Money?" Read all of the responses here, two snips below:

Margaret Spellings, Former Secretary, U.S. Department of Education

It’s true that some states are facing state budget woes, and stimulus dollars will inevitably be used to stave off serious cuts—the best example of this is California. But we should not excuse states from advancing reform on this basis. The biggest impediment to reform is—and has always been—political will, not money. Congress and the Administration have sent two messages with this unprecedented level of federal funding: fill in budget gaps, and reform education. There’s been lots of talk about how to fulfill both priorities at once. But the answer isn’t really about the money and what the fiscal situation looks like in each state. The reality is that Congress punted the issue to state and local policymakers to make these decisions, as almost all of the stimulus dollars are awarded by formula to states and districts. If local leaders have the political will to stand up to the status quo and really spend money on reform-oriented policies, then it’s within their ability to do so.

Arthur J. Rothkopf, Senior Vice President, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

There is no doubt that education stimulus funding will be used by the states that are in great financial difficulty to prevent large-scale teacher layoffs and to offset some of the draconian cuts in education spending created by the recession. At the same time, Congress intended through the "assurances" required of states before they are to receive State Fiscal Stabilization funds, that they agree to significant reform efforts. These assurances include creating a robust K-16 data system; developing college and career-ready standards, and the assessments to accompany these standards; improving teacher effectiveness and placing our best teachers in our most challenging schools; and intervening effectively in chronically low-performing schools. Secretary Duncan is doing everything he can to see that these reform measures are adopted but the jury is out as to what is actually happening on the ground...The states must be able to "walk and chew gum" at the same time. They need to use the stimulus funding to offset the effects of the recession and at the same time, bring about needed reforms in our public school system.