Grant Going to Schools, Not Teachers

January 18, 2010

Anyone counting on an influx of federal Race to the Top money to help offset cuts to the school district’s teaching staff and programs next year will be disappointed.

Superintendent Mark Conrad said Monday that the money – should the district receive it – could not be used to replace the dozens of teaching positions that may have to be cut next year to make up for an anticipated budget shortfall.

“One of the very clear clauses in the requirement is that we could not use the money to supplant our operating budget,” Conrad said. “We can’t take existing operating expenses and simply transfer them to the grant.”

Conrad has already told school board members that he will p ropose cutting 34 teaching positions and eliminate the Phoenix Program as part of his cost-cutting measures. Although Conrad has estimated the deficit at $6 million, he has said his budget proposal will only cut $4 million.

Conrad will present his budget proposal tonight in the board meeting room at Nashua High School North at 7.

Race to the Top is a federal education initiative that sets aside $4.35 billion in stimulus funding and distributes it to states based on a competitive application process. New Hampshire education officials have said they would be submitting an application to Washington, D.C., and the deadline for states to submit applications is today. The application process asks states to commit to several areas of reform, such as tying teacher pay and evaluations to student performance.

“Race to the Top will go to states that are leading the way with ambitious yet achievable plans for implementing coherent, compelling, and comprehensive education reform,” according to the federal Department of Education.

School district officials have submitted an application to the state to participate in the federal Race to the Top program. It’s not yet clear how much the district would receive, but New Hampshire education officials are hoping to get between $20 million to $75 million, which would be distributed over a period of three years.

The school district’s proposal included details about costs totaling about $3.9 million over the three-year period. While $1.27 million of that would be spread across the school district, the other $2.58 million would be focused on Ledge Street Elementary School, which was identified by the state as a “struggling school.”

Although Ledge Street could see additional positions created through the program, such as instructional coaches and a social worker, the district could not use the mo ney to pay for more teachers to help decrease class sizes, Conrad said.

Although federal stimulus money has been used to fund about 70 positions in the school district this year, Conrad said the Race to the Top money will not be able to be used in the same way. Instead of putting more teachers in classrooms, the money would have to be focused toward areas like “improving effective teaching and improving assessment,” Conrad said.

In its proposal, the school district said a portion of the money would be used to expand upon its use of Response to Intervention, which is an instructional tool for struggling students. Conrad said $100,000 would be used to develop a districtwide assessment system.

“We would see that as a significant part of that overall proposal because of importance of accountability and assessment,” Conrad said.

The city’s teachers union chose not to sign the memorandum of understanding that was part of the school district’s application process with the state, which could hurt the state’s chances at getting funding. Last week, union President Robert Sherman reiterated the union’s objection was because of the lack of clarity about how student performance would be used in teacher evaluations.

Sherman said that because it was an all-or-nothing proposition, the union opted not to sign on. The union did provide a separate letter stating its support for some aspects of the program.

The Board of Education voted to sign the document, although some members expressed reservations about the strings that might be attached to the money. Conrad assured the board that the district would have 60 days to complete a more formal application if the state is chosen. The district could still choose not to participate if required reforms become an issue, he said.

States will be informed in April whether they have been chosen for the first round. There will be a second round of applications this summer.