Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
Thank you. (Operator instructions) And we’ll go first to Drew Crum with Stifel Nicolaus. Please go ahead, sir.
Drew Crum - Stifel Nicolaus
Great. Good morning, everyone. I wanted to start with those fourth quarter earnings number. Just want to get some clarification on the $0.82 you reported. Does that not or does it include the $0.17 tax benefit that was noted in the press release?
Dick Robinson
Maureen? You’ll take that one from Drew?
Maureen O’Connell
Sure. When we estimated our UK -- when we rode off the Goodwill and the UK and the investments in the UK, we estimated tax benefits in the third quarter. It turned out we can deduct more of that and so we took that as a deduction to our EPS this quarter. So it’s actually a reduction of our benefit in this quarter. So we had higher earnings from continuing operations before that tax adjustment.
Drew Crum - Stifel Nicolaus
Okay. And Maureen, looking to 2010, which would we be using for an effective tax rate?
Maureen O’Connell
I’d say between 43% and 45%.
Drew Crum - Stifel Nicolaus
Okay. And it looks like you guys are really getting some traction with the federal stimulus year-to-date, some encouraging result. I wanted to ask you what your assumptions are outside of revenue from a federal government. There’s some concern at the state in local level and I know that’s a piece of your business as well. How do you factor that in to your outlook for fiscal 10?
Dick Robinson
Well, it’s a good question, Drew. I’ll ask Margery to answer it more detailed. Our plan here was always to have a level of growth in our core business in fiscal 2010. On top of which, the incremental $50 million that we discussed for ARRA and aid stimulus. However, Margery can give you a little more color on that particular issue which you raised, the local budget’s weakening.
Margery Mayer
So Drew, good morning. How are you?
Drew Crum - Stifel Nicolaus
Good morning. Good.
Margery Mayer
Well, I’d have to tell you that I have to contain myself because we’re pretty excited about what we’re seeing in the education market right now. We are tracking our opportunities by whether or not we feel that there’s stimulus or whether we feel that they’re what we call our core based business and both of those categories are up. And what we’re seeing, I think, is that even if school districts don’t have their stimulus money already, they see it coming. And so they’ve loosened up their money and they are spending.
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