Rendell Ordered to Add 4 Schools to Stimulus Application

The Rendell administration is being asked to include four state-related schools in a revised application for stimulus money. Rendell left Penn State University, the University of Pittsburgh, and Temple and Lincoln Universities off the original application when it was submitted last month.

The governor's spokesperson Chuck Ardo says Rendell doesn't view the four schools as "truly public institutions" because the state has limited control over their operations. Because of that, Rendell has been unhappy with the schools' decision to raise tuition.

However, after university administrators and a Congressional delegation complained, the U.S. Department of Education asked for the change.

But Ardo cautioned that the directive from the Department of Education allows the governor to take tuition increases into consideration when distributing the money-- and does not mandate that those four schools receive funds.