Columns

Saturday, September 4, 2004

harkin grants for public schools: apply now!

As a kid attending a two-room schoolhouse in rural Cumming in the 1940s, I thought that caring teachers were all I needed. But as a public servant in the 21st century, I know that caring, qualified teachers are just one ingredient in a high-quality public school. Modern, safe school buildings are also essential. And quality does not come cheap.

The problem is that school districts all across Iowa are strapped for cash. The funding crunch is especially dire in rural and small-town communities with declining enrollments.

Iowa’s public schools need all the help they can get. That’s why, as ranking member of the Senate panel that funds education, I have secured an additional $6.8 million for Harkin Grants to Iowa public schools this year. Since 1998, Iowa schools have received a total of $101 million in Harkin Grants, the only federal program of its kind designed to repair, modernize, and build new schools.

In the first six years of the Harkin Grant program, 264 school districts across Iowa have received grants. There are two types of grants that Iowa schools and districts can apply for this year:

Life Safety Grants: $2.4 million will be available to fund projects to remedy fire safety defects and must be used to fund new activities. Small school districts can apply for up to $25,000, medium districts are eligible to receive up to $100,000 and large school districts can apply for up to $150,000. No local match is required.

School Construction and Modernization: $4.4 million will be available to fund new construction, remodeling, or renovation projects and will require a local match of 75% of the project. The maximum grant for all size districts is $500,000.

These grants are truly an investment in Iowa communities and children, and I encourage school districts to apply. The Iowa Department of Education does a great job of keeping paperwork to a bare minimum, while allowing flexibility to local school districts. Because of the local match requirements, districts have been amazingly successful in leveraging their Harkin Grants to pass more generous school budgets and to raise private funds.

In recent months, I visited many schools that received Harkin Grants. For example, I was very impressed with the Red Oak Community School District’s use of its $250,000 Harkin Grant to build a major classroom addition – including a new cafeteria, media center, art room, music room, and gymnasium -- on Inman Primary School. This allowed the district to bring students from several neighborhood schools together at one site. And the new classroom space also made it possible to expand kindergarten to all-day, every day.

Again, I urge every Iowa school district to consider how they might use a Harkin Grant. Applications are now available and will be due by December 10, 2004. To apply, please contact C. Milton Wilson at the Iowa Department of Education at 515-281-4743 or visit the website at www.state.ia.us/educate.