Using federal money is an issue for schools
By Carolyn Wall
Rim Country Gazette (Arizona)
December 19, 2008
School districts throughout Gila County are looking to offset their budget woes with some help from the federal government, but the money - $2.1 million to the county - is still out there, set to be distributed by January 15.
“The major issue right now is that we have the potential for a whole lot more money,” said Gila County School Superintendent Linda O’Dell. “We have been told we will receive X number of dollars in funding. It’s on paper.”
Until the county gets the money and knows exactly what it is getting, it will be difficult to make a decision on how it’s going to be distributed, she said.
At issue is how the money will be divided. When the $700 billion economic stimulus bill was approved, Congress added $200 million to the Secure and Rural Schools and Communities Act.
“All of these extra projects were kind of flipped in,” O’Dell said. “Some folks are calling it ‘pork barrel.’”
O’Dell said the money will not benefit the eastern states as much as those in the West because the funding is based on the percentage of public forest lands in school districts.
“This is now a fully-funded program that has been minimally funded,” she said. “Last year Gila County received $312,000. Ninety-five percent of forest fees went for use by schools.”
Five percent of the money went to open the Gila County Payson office and 50 percent went to school districts with forest acreage. Payson and Globe received $17,000 and the county still has the remaining money, $125,000 in the fund, according to O’Dell.
She said she distributed the funds as her predecessors did, based on the amount of public land in the school districts. She also held part of the money for teacher training, for technology infrastructure, curricular software for a number of schools and for adult education.
“I followed the same practice put in place by my predecessors,” O’Dell said. “It seemed reasonable. County management is aware of how the money was distributed. What’s at issue now is the amount of money that is out there.”
Both Globe and Payson School Districts passed resolutions saying that they now want to distribute the money based on school enrollment.
The Payson School Board passed a resolution at their December 8 board meeting requesting that the Gila County Board of Supervisors distribute Rural Schools Act Funding monies to school districts around Gila County rather than have the money go to the Gila County School Supervisor for distribution.
The PUSD board requested a more equitable funding formula based on enrollment.
Pine-Strawberry School Principal-Superintendent Mike Clark said his school board also passed a resolution seeking distribution on a per pupil type of allocation and forwarded their request to Gila County District One Supervisor Tommie Cline Martin.
Neither Martin nor Payson School Superintendent Casey O’Brien could be reached for comment before press time.
Clark said, “I’m sure the Board of Supervisors will do what’s best for everybody, if the supervisors receive the money. I have confidence that the board will distribute the money in the most equitable manner.”
Clark said the way the money was distributed last year was one way to do it and the way it had been distributed before.
“Could I have used more money? Well, certainly – I think anybody could have,” he said.
O’Dell said school enrollment is one way to distribute the money. “Acreage is another,” she said. “Holding a portion of the money by the county is a possibility for general use. (Used for) grant projects are another way.”
She said she is working closely with the Gila County Board of Supervisors and county management to identify the best possible array of uses for the money and will work with school entities.
A recommendation will come from district and county officials to fund money to a total of nine school districts and accommodation schools which include non-traditional school settings serving students who have been in the court system and those who have been suspended. Among the accommodation students served are those in the San Carlos detention system.
“It’s a very complicated issue which is further complicated by the amount of money and the economic hard times,” O’Dell said. “My view is to see the needs of the students are being met.
“I am of the belief that students may need a different school setting than the traditional.
Parents need to advocate for the best interests of their children. I have a concern in general for all students in this county.”
County officials are also concerned that K-12 educational funding will be cut by the state to offset the budget deficit.
O’Dell said county officials may also want to reserve funds that may be needed by school districts with budget problems down the road.
If the county were to distribute funds based on student enrollment alone, Payson would receive one-third of the funds, up to $700,000. There are an estimated 7,500 students in public schools around the county and 1,500 in other schools.
“One of the other things that has happened here is, if the forestry money is based solely on enrollment, the smaller schools lose,” O’Dell said.
Young has 75 students, Tonto Basin, 65, and Pine-Strawberry, 135. Young may be the smallest school district, but it has the largest percentage of forest land – 40 percent.
By comparison, Payson received a total of $11.40 per student and Young received $781 per student last year.
There are 2,500 students in Payson, 1,800 in Globe, and 1,100 in San Carlos and Miami.
“Regardless of size, school districts are held to the same laws, administration, statutory, fiscal responsibility, for example, special education,” O’Dell said.
“All of our schools use the same system and the cost of software programs is the same. I don’t want to pit the big schools against the little schools. I believe we need to look at a variety of options to make sure that all our schools have adequate funding to assure quality education programs. The door is open for some creative options to provide educational opportunities throughout the county.
“Show us the money. Until we have it and know exactly what we have, we won’t make that decision. That won’t happen until mid-February,” she said.
|
