WASHINGTON — While Tennessee officials say the state will not use funds from the economic stimulus package to boost its annual school budget, Georgia officials say their state likely will use that money to prevent an expected 3 percent cut to the education funding formula.

“Those particulars we’re working out with the governor’s office right now, but it is a commitment (Gov. Sonny Perdue will) have to make to go to that baseline of ’08 (funding levels), plus possibly more,” said Kathy Cox, Georgia’s superintendent of schools.

Ms. Cox said the stimulus funds may prevent thousands of teacher layoffs across the state and possibly restore funding for school nurses, which were eliminated in Gov. Perdue’s 2010 budget.

State school superintendents from across the nation met Wednesday with U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Vice President Joe Biden to discuss how the education funding from the stimulus package will be used.

Timothy Webb, Tennessee’s Department of Education commissioner, said he was not told exactly how much the state would receive, but White House officials said they would provide more guidance by the end of March.

Mr. Webb reiterated Gov. Phil Bredesen’s recent comments that Tennessee is unlikely to use the stimulus funds to boost the Basic Education Program, which allocates money to each school district, because the federal dollars last only through 2011.

Gov. Bredesen, who already has said he won’t cut BEP funding, said any BEP boost would have to come from sustainable sources of revenue, and he intends to use the stimulus money for one-time expenses and to soften higher education cuts.

“We’re trying to restore some of the substantial cuts to higher ed, but (with) the BEP ... I don’t think we’re going to see that much money out of the stimulus package for that,” Mr. Webb said.

Georgia officials said the expiration of the stimulus funds in 2011 is a concern, but the federal dollars are needed to stave off any further cuts to its Quality Basic Education funding formula. Gov. Perdue’s fiscal 2010 budget calls for a 3 percent cut in QBE money.

“The governor’s taking his time to take a look at how to utilize the funds for fiscal ’09, ’10 and ’11,” said Teresa MacCartney, Gov. Perdue’s division director for education in the Office of Planning and Budget.

She said Georgia expects to receive $1.2 billion from the stimulus to boost Quality Basic Education and higher education funding, based on published estimates. Georgia also is likely to receive another $1 billion for programs for low-income and special education students, she said.

Ms. Cox said the system is “in a holding pattern right now.”

“We appreciate this infusion because, in so many of our rural areas, our school systems are our No. 1 employer,” Ms. Cox said. “We should have answers in the next couple of weeks.”

Rachel Woods, communication director for the Tennessee Department of Education, said teacher layoffs are not likely in the foreseeable future.

At the Wednesday meeting with school administrators, Mr. Biden said the stimulus money represents a “down payment” for schools to invest in facilities, teacher initiatives and student programs. The stimulus package calls for about $77 billion in direct assistance to schools and another $25 billion for school construction, he said.

“You get your chance to build that high-tech science lab you never thought you could,” Mr. Biden said.

But he warned that states need to use the money wisely or risk political backlash that could prevent future funding from Washington.

“If we don’t do this right, the ride’s over,” he said. “Folks are taking a chance on us. We do this well, you will not lack resources, (and) you will not have as an excuse over the next eight years that we didn’t have the capacity (to help).”