School Districts and Federal Stimulus Money

From today's Times, an article about how districts around the state are spending federal stimulus money. I guess I was confused because I thought at least some of it was for capital spending. From the article:

"Washington schools will get an unprecedented federal windfall over the next two years — up to $400 million for special-education and low-income students.

The temporary influx of money is certainly welcome. School officials have long complained that the federal government doesn't give them what they need.

But the federal cash has also put some school officials in an awkward spot. The state budget crisis has forced schools to cut training and class offerings and lay off hundreds of teachers. The Legislature slashed $600 million from Initiative 728 funding, approved by the voters in 2000, to hire teachers and reduce class sizes.

So due to limits on how the new federal stimulus money can be spent, the additional money means many districts may wind up maintaining or improving services for some students while cutting programs for others."

Explaining it more:

"In other words, the Legislature slashed state funding for public schools that could be used broadly, and partially replaced it with one-time stimulus dollars from the federal government with a more narrow purpose.

The federal government did provide some flexibility.

School districts are getting a total of about $220 million in federal special-education money. They can use up to half of that amount to backfill cuts elsewhere in their budgets. Essentially, the new money allows districts to use some of the local money they now spend on special education for other purposes."

Problems?

"The biggest issue with the federal money, aside from the restrictions on use, is that it's temporary.

If districts use it to hire new teachers, for example, what will they do in two years when the funding is due to dry up?

"All of that has to be weighed," Rosier said. "There are lots of complications for districts. How do you use the money in an effective way that doesn't set you up for real problems down the road?"

Indeed, didn't we have this problem with the Gates "transformation" money?

From Michael DeBell:

"DeBell, the board president, said he's not too worried about the federal money disappearing because Seattle's enrollment appears to be increasing, and that will bring in more state money.

"The federal money is working like a bridge for us to allow us to carry employees we're pretty sure we're going to need because of enrollment trends," he said."

No one should ever express any confidence in money for schools because it's never worked out long term. And have we solved these pending capacity problems?

(FYI, I had heard Facilities folks say publicly (and indeed I heard Harium say this at his community meeting) that even if the district HAD the money for portables, they couldn't get them because there's a nationwide backlog/shortage. I checked 5 companies around the country including one in Marysville. No such shortage or backlog. We have millions in our capital funds and yes, it would mean shifting or postponing projects but they've certainly done that before (ask SBOC). If we need portables to get through these capacity issues until the SAP is in action for a couple of years and we see how it all shakes out, this district should pony up and buy them. Do they want this SAP to succeed and for people to see real action being taken on capacity until closed buildings are re-opened or some other solution comes on-line or not?)

Comments

TechyMom said…
There are 2 portables sitting unused at MLK. Some ought to port them over to McGilvra. Are there others at closed schools?
ARB said…
Isn't it pathetic that the school district finds the restrictions merely inconvenient as they take money meant for special ed students and spend it elsewhere. I know all schools are cash strapped but this is federal money coming to schools to assist with administering and meeting the standards of the IDEA-- a fedral law.
BL said…
Does the Genesee Hill building have portables?
ParentofThree said…
" I heard Harium say this at his community meeting) that even if the district HAD the money for portables, they couldn't get them because there's a nationwide backlog/shortage."

Couple of things so wrong with this. Who told Harium that there was a national shortage of portables? And two, why did he believe that utter nonsense?
Laura said…
re: portables at closed schools
Both viewlands and McDonald have portable but these might be difficult to move, or at least that's what the school district will probably say.
Anonymous said…
Are we really cash strapped? We closed schools to consolidate spending, not to keep a bunch of teachers and principals around that we don't really need. How many studies did SPS have noting the excess capacity? Repeatedly, and many. Of course nobody likes it when their favorite teacher gets riff'ed, or their school is closed. (My kids' teacher was riffed, so I get it.) But, why close buildings and suffer all that if we're not going to finish the job and do what it takes to realize the benefits? Sure we can argue about which teachers and administrators we need, and whether union contracts protecting older teachers is most effective. Now we're asking the disabled kids to take the hit of the closures instead. The next time we cry about the cost of sped students, or a lack of IDEA funding, let's all remember that IDEA funding has been diverted AWAY from those students into the general pot. So if a kid winds up in your class without adequate support, remember that's how your favorite teacher kept her job, or how your kid's class somehow has 22 students.
speducator said…
Anonymous, you bring up a good point about being cash strapped. After closing schools, they're talking about reopening other schools.

As for administrators in the school district, how many of them actually lost their jobs? At Chief Sealth, we didn't lose any. We lost many other teachers, including a beloved art teacher who had been there ten years.

I'm happy that they've rehired 57 teachers, but I'm not happy they've used special ed money to do it. Principals have been redirecting special ed funds for other uses for years. That was one of the issues in the special ed review. Where is the state audit on this kind of spending abuse?

Although not really related to the stimulus, but more related to closures, I got a call from a special ed teacher from Summit who was verbally promised a job at Ingraham. She was even invited to the school to observe the classroom and meet staff. A week ago she was told that the district was moving a special ed "program" from Sealth to Ingraham. (I thought we weren't supposed to refer to special ed classifications as "programs" anymore, but as service delivery.)

There are no students moving from Sealth to Ingraham. The TEACHER is moving to Ingraham to save her job. She was supposed to have 9 students and she only had 3 the entire year.

Also, there still is no special ed director. There is an interim director who has been here the entire school year.

My question is, how will the rest of the IDEA money be used, and will there be a transparent process to follow that money?
Charlie Mas said…
There are not only portables at closed schools, there are also portables at schools that are reportedly under-enrolled, such as Mercer and Aki Kurose.

I wonder if the federal government's decision to provide stimulus funding to school districts through IDEA and Title I was because they wanted to provide funding for those specific purposes or if they used those vehicles because they were already in place. Maybe the federal government intended the funds to be used for a broader range of purposes. Does anyone know?
ARB said…
Not on point, but related--IDEA has teeth:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/23/education/23special.html

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