If states and school districts choose to allocate any money to transportation, however, remains to be seen.

Schools would be eligible to apply for the $23 billion “education jobs fund,” which is roughly 15 percent of the total $154 bilion package. The new program is the result of diverting left-over Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) money originally appropriated for the banking industry and is in addition to the $100 billion education provision in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). In the new year, the Senate could begin debating its own version of the new jobs stimulus.

In addition to using the money to restore education budgets cut made over the past year and paying salaries and benefits for teacher and other employees, such as transportation staff, the education jobs fund could also be used for new school construction and modernization, renovation and repair. This could include building new bus depots.

Like with the previous stimulus funds, however, schools would not be able to purchase new buses, at least in its current version. That would likely not change.