The state university system should get its first share of federal stimulus funding, about $154 million, within the next month, officials from the governor’s office said.

The state’s application for $433 million in stimulus funding for education was approved July 14 after some initial tension between state and federal officials.

Tasya Peterson, a spokesperson for the governor’s Office of Economic Recovery, said education is high on the list of Gov. Jan Brewer’s priorities — 82 percent of the $1 billion coming in from the federal government this year will be dedicated to the education system. The funding will be broken up and sent to the K-12, community college and university systems, she said.

“[Education] is very important to Gov. Brewer,” Peterson said. “This is designed to save teachers’ jobs, to protect teachers and to give the people of Arizona the best education possible.”

Arizona’s hopes of getting stimulus funding were thrown into doubt when Sen. Jon Kyl, a Republican representing Congressional District 8, released a statement earlier this month calling for the state to reject offers for federal stimulus funding. The funds would take years to implement, he said, and by the time most of them are ready to be spent by state and federal officials, the economy may have recovered, which would leave the taxpayers with a huge debt to pay off.

“If that’s the case, the administration will no longer have a justification for its stimulus spending,” Kyl said in the statement. “Yet, taxpayers will still be on the hook for the hundreds of billions that the government will have to borrow to pay for it.”

The statement prompted letters to the governor’s office from numerous high-ranking members of the Obama administration, including Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. The officials outlined what they believed would be the impact of rejecting federal funding, including numerous layoffs and crucial services being under-funded.

“If you prefer to forfeit the money we are making available to your state, as Senator Kyl suggests, please let me know,” LaHood’s said in his letter.

Peterson said the process had gone smoothly despite the public feud between Kyl and the Obama administration.

“We are implementing the stimulus, and we are grateful for the funds,” Peterson said. “Things have been going very smoothly with the administration.”

University officials declined to comment on the impact of the incoming stimulus money. Andrea Smiley, a spokeswoman for the Arizona Board of Regents, said she did not wish to speculate on the impact of the funds until she knew how much funding the universities are receiving from the state Legislature.

State lawmakers are in the midst of a special session on the 2010 budget after Gov. Brewer vetoed several proposed budget cuts, including a total of $130 million in cuts and fund sweeps to the universities.

“We’re awaiting the negotiations from the state Legislature,” Smiley said. “I can’t say what the impact [of stimulus funding] will be until we know what this year’s budget is.”

Reach the reporter at derek.quizon@asu.edu