Senator Charles Schumer said yesterday that the large chunk of stimulus money that will go to New York should be arriving by the end of this month. Local schools will be able to factor the stimulus money into next year's budgets when they're put together in late March. Schumer said, “These are difficult times for our school boards and this aid is critical to avoid layoffs and higher taxes." Schools will have to obligate 85 percent of their stimulus money by the end of 2010, with the remainder needing to be allocated by the end of September 2011. Albany will also get a good chunk of its stimulus money in the weeks ahead, with Governor Paterson and legislators expected to tangle on how to divvy it up to address various budget needs. Schumer is credited for bringing the state a good piece of the stimulus pie with one Democrat recently saying after the final bill went though, "Whatever Chuck wants, Chuck gets."