Missouri Faces Delay in Getting Money to Save Education Jobs (MO)
September 10, 2010
Missouri school districts will have to wait several months to see any of the $189.7 million in federal emergency money meant to save educator jobs.
The delay means that teachers who may have been laid off in the state won’t benefit this school year from $10 billion in aid approved by Congress last month. Federal education officials had hoped the money would be spent immediately to save about 160,000education jobs nationwide, including 3,300 teacher and school staff jobs in Missouri and 5,700 in Illinois.
On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced Missouri’s approval for the funds, saying in a statement, "There is a huge sense of urgency to get these funds out the door." He expressed hope that it would be spent this school year.
But the money cannot be distributed in Missouri without approval from the Legislature of a supplemental appropriation, according to the state budget director. That process will not begin until January, when legislators return to Jefferson City.
Meanwhile, Illinois officials have told districts they could see money as early as this month. The state was one of the first to submit its application and gain approval from federal officials.
Metro East school district leaders remain cautiously optimistic.
"We want to make sure the money is not going to supplant money the state is supposed to give us," said Dave Elson, superintendent of Alton schools, where the Illinois budget crisis has left the district about $2.47 million short in state aid. Still, if the $1.3million promised to the district through the education jobs money comes through, it will mean the district will not have to borrow money as planned to keep 25 teachers in classrooms this school year, he said. Last year, the district laid off 49 people,including more than a dozen teachers.
President Barack Obama signed the spending bill last month,which included more than $600 million for education in Missouri and Illinois. While Congress intended states to use the money this school year, school districts actually have until September 2012 to spend it. It can be used to preserve or create education jobs by helping districts pay for salaries and benefits for employees who provide school-level educational and related services, including teachers, principals, counselors and librarians.
Missouri’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has estimated how much money each district would receive. The projections confirmed what many school leaders had assumed about the funds — several suburban St. Louis districts will see minimal dollars while others may get millions.
That’s because Missouri plans to distribute the money through the existing state school funding formula, which favors poorer school districts with low local property tax support.
For example, the Hazelwood School District is estimated to receive $3.8 million, while the Lindbergh School District, the only St. Louis County school district forced to lay off a significant number due to the recession, could see just $199,000. It’s not enough to bring back the 35 teachers who did not return this year because of cuts.
Lindbergh and districts such as Parkway, K irkwood, Brentwood,Pattonville and Clayton, rely chiefly on local funding.
Hazelwood and other Missouri districts such as Riverview Gardens and Fort Zumwalt who rely more on state dollars, are estimated to see the biggest windfall from the education jobs money.
But even some of those districts aren’t ready to jump ahead yet with plans for the money.
"It certainly would benefit us," said Patrick Wallace, spokes man for St. Louis Public Schools. "But we would never count on spending$6 million until we actually see it."
Across the country, the few choices for distribution has been one of the complaints about the program, said Mike Griffith, senior policy analyst for the Education Commission of the States.
"You’re not left with a lot of options to distribute, and many times, it does mean that the wealthy districts will not be gaining nearly as much," he said. "But there are districts that desperately needed this money, and it will help."