Dallas Districts Grapple With Smart Ways to Spend Their Stimulus Funds
March 29, 2010
In an era of siphoned education budgets, school officials are more likely to hunt for money than ways to spend it. But the sudden shove of federal stimulus dollars has left som e North Texas districts grappling with effective ways to use their share.
The funds – part of President Barack Obama’s $787 billion economic recovery package – are largely intended for original programs. This stipulation has made it difficult for more-affluent districts that already offer a slew of innovative options. Administrators worry additional programs will hurt existing ones when the money dries up in two years. This means those with the least funding may still have difficulty spending it.
"The frustration in knowing how to spend the money is universal," said Sandy Maddox, the deputy executive director of the Texas Education Agency’s Regional Education Service Center in Richardson. "It may end up districts don’t have a chance to spend it all. But it’s more true of districts like Collin County than anywhere else where examples of innovating are already going on."
Cities across the country with crushing budget shortfalls are pouring their stimulus funds into simply keeping the lights on and staff employed.
Dallas ISD is using a large chunk just to pay its teachers.But the funds have to be considered differently in suburban areas like Fris co,said Rick Bankston, the school district’s chief financial officer.
"It’s difficult to find a school program that could truly be supplemental to programs we have here," he said. "We had to be careful we weren’t put in a position where we suddenly had to come up with$5 million of local money."
Two kinds of money
Stimulus money for special education and low-income students lasts two years. The Plano school district is getting nearly $13.7 million over the two years as a part of that effort, while Allen ISD will get about $3.2million.
By comparison, Dallas ISD planned for more than $65 million in low-income stimulus funding this year alone.
There is a separate pot called stabilization funds. These span a year and replace the state’s regular education funding.
From this, Plano ISD will get about $15.4 million, compared with the Allen district’s approximately $5 million. Dallas ISD gets $46million, according to the Texas Education Agency.
Most of Collin County’s school stimulus money comes in the form of special-education grants because districts there have a lower percentage of low-income students. And many are opting to use this money for temporary staffing rather than investing in something that may fade soon after it starts.
"I look at it like this," said Patti Frair, Allen ISD’s executive director of special education. "We’ve got two years, so we have two years to get it right."
The Allen district is using its special-education money for11 hires, including a job coach and instruction specialists who help train teachers. Frisco ISD decided to hire and train 40 special-education personnel who could be absorbed into the district’s costs or serve in other teaching capacities as the district expands.
McKinney ISD created spots for intervention workers who aim to lessen the distinction between special- and general-education students.
Most of these positions are short-term. Allen ISD has already informed new staffers of their temporary spots. McKinney is retraining existing staff and hopes they apply the skills when the position terminates.
Plano ISD stayed away from hires for this purpose, choosing to focus on developing curriculum and software instead.
The Plano district’s most creative project – a mobile classroom that pushes parental education – already has officials questioning how it will last. The program hasn’t started yet.
Lost in a flood
Teacher hiring is a viable option because"innovative" – the latest buzzword linked to school stimulus spending– is undefined.
"Lots of times being innovative requires staff,"said Jerel Booker, chairman of the Texas education commissioner’s Recovery and Reinvestm ent Act Task Force. "How innovative can you be with a new program when you can’t get a person to run it?"
Every school district can use the money, Booker said, but the restrictions and pace of the funds sometimes overwhelm them.
"It’s a flood of money, so it seems like more than it needs to be," he said. "Districts aren’t used to having this much money all at once and then dealing with this many rules."
For all its confusing parameters and bureaucratic paperwork,money is still money, said Stephen Fortenberry, McKinney ISD’s chief financial officer.
"With school finance the way it is … everyone is in the same boat," he said. "Special populations need services just like any other students. There’s plenty that is common to all districts, regardless of where they are."