How Education Jobs bill and ‘Race to the Top’ funding could affect the district budget is still unclear
As pressures to trim school finances while ratcheting up student achievement continue to mount, two federal education funding programs promise to filter millions of dollars to New York State for use in local school districts.
In mid-August, federal legislators approved the Education Jobs Fund (EJF) program, which aims to help states save or create education jobs for the 2010-11school year.
Then, New York State received word in late August that it had been selected to receive millions of dollars in new education grants through the federal “Race To The Top” program. This program, designed to reward states that embrace education reforms, could bring up to $700 million in federal education funding to the state.
The New York State Legislature has not yet appropriated the funds from the EJF program, and BKW has not yet determined how it will utilize funds received from Race To The Top. The Legislature had not yet decided what, if any, direct influence it will have on the allocation of funds from either federal program.
In the meantime, district administrators are planning for the possible additional aid.
The EJF program allows a state to determine how to distribute funds to school districts, but districts can decide how to use the funds within federal guidelines. The funds are supposed to cover compensation, benefits and other expenses necessary to retain existing employees, recall or rehire former employees, or hire new employees, to provide early childhood, elementary, or secondary educational and related services.
“The Board and administration will have to consider the best use for these federal funds, once we know how much we will receive and when,” says Superintendent Dr. Paul Dorward. “We will have to develop a strategy for how to best apply any funds to our district’s needs.”
The 2010-11 school budget included staffing cuts for 16.9 positions. For 2009-10, the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction position was abolished and the Elementary School librarian position was eliminated.
Still, the district faces a number of challenges before it can make good use of any federal funding it receives:
Challenge 1: Timing
The new school year began before aid arrived. States were not expecting to receive federal education funds from either program much before the end of September. This means student and teacher schedules are already locked in for the school year, making it difficult to add classes using new staff.
Challenge 2: The School Budget
Voters have already approved a budget for the 2010-11 school year. Unless new legislation is passed, school districts are not allowed to spend more than their approved budget. Because BKW is operating under a contingency budget for 2010-11, even more restrictions apply, such as the inability to purchase equipment.
Challenge 3: Sustainability
EJF funds must be used by September 2012, so reoccurring expenses added to the budget by using this aid – such as salaries for employees retained to maintain new academic programs – may eventually need to be cut.
“Clearly, we will need more information before we proceed with plans to use any federal funding we receive,” Dorward says. “But once we can move forward, we must do so with the goal of sustaining a consistently effective academic program.”
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