Poor Mass. Schools To Get $163 Million

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.

Through this funding, Holyoke will receive over $3 million. Other cities and towns receiving large amounts of money include Boston with almost $21 million, Springfield with $8.6 million, and Worcester with almost $4 million.

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