R.I. to Plug Budget with Federal Money Meant to Save Teacher Jobs (RI)

September 1, 2010

A new law aimed at saving millions of teaching jobs and protecting school programs across the country may not accomplish either goal here in Rhode Island.

Instead, Governor Carcieri intends to use the $32.9 million Rhode Island is eligible to receive to plug an estimated $38-million deficit in this year’s budget.

His plan drew a strong protest from Education Commissioner Deborah A. Gist, Congressman James R. Langevin and representatives of teachers unions and the state’s school committees.

Gist said she is “very concerned that federal aid that’s intended for education is being used to fill a statewide deficit.” She said she has “strongly ad vocated” that the money be used “for its intended purpose.”

School districts across the state were hoping that more than 400 teaching jobs would be restored or protected after Congress passed the bill in August. Nationwide, the law allocates $10 billion for schools and $16.1 billion to prevent Medicaid cuts.

Rhode Island is eligible to receive more than $100 million, $32.9 million intended for education jobs and about $70 million for Medicaid reimbursements.

But that’s about $38 million less for Medicaid than the state was counting on when it passed the 2010-’11 budget, said Carcieri’s spokeswoman, Amy Kempe.

“The General Assembly passed a budget with a $107-million hole with the expectation that we would receive that much specifically for Medicaid,” Kempe said. “Instead, Congress … split that allocation between Medicaid and education, but it also allows the states some flexibility to use the education funding to fill that hole.”

States have until Sept. 9 to apply for the federal funds. Gist said Tuesday her office had sent in the required paperwork on Monday.

“While I’m sure it may be technically allowable and that the governor’s office is doing the appropriate thing, I don’t think we are acknowledging the intention of President Obama, [U.S. Education Secretary Arne] Duncan or Congress had for these funds,” Gist said.

Gist said she is especially concerned because the state is facing an even worse budget gap in fiscal year 2012 and the education jobs money could be spent during that year as well. According to the state Budget Office, the overall deficit could be as large as $320 million next year.

The executive di rector of the National Education Association of Rhode Island also criticized the governor’s plan, particularly after Carcieri and the General Assembly reduced state education aid to schools by 3.6 percent this year, a $29-million cut.

“The intended purpose of this money is to bring back teachers who have been laid off or to prevent layoffs, and replace school programs,” said Robert A. Walsh Jr. “This money would have allowed the important work of public education to go on in this state.”

Several districts have eliminated after-school and gifted-and-talented programs, increased class sizes and even closed schools because of the fiscal crisis.

Marcia Reback, president of the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers which represents the state’s urban districts and a handful of suburban ones, said that about 81 RIFT teachers remain laid off, and even more teaching assistants have lost their jobs.

“I also have a lot of positions not filled because of retirements and retrenchment,” Reback said in an e-mail. “There are many fewer teachers staffing the schools.”

“I voted for this bill to help keep Rhode Island teachers on the job,” Langevin said in a statement. “Properly supporting our state’s education system is the best way to reverse our current economic situation over the long term.”

Tim Duffy, executive director of the Rhode Island Association of School Committees, said that while school leaders understand the need for painful cuts during the recession, he takes issue with Carcieri’s analysis of school spending in the state. “What’s a little upsetting is the governor’s rhetoric that schools have been made whole now,” Duffy said. “That’s not the case. I resent playing a financial shell game by implying we’ve received l evel funding when in fact we have been cut by $29 million.”

To receive the money, states must show federal officials they are continuing to support education in the same proportion of overall spending, and will not use these federal monies to build up a “rainy day fund” or to pay off debt.

Although the state has cut education aid, other department budgets have also been reduced, so it is likely the state will be able to fulfill this requirement.

To meet federal regulations, the new money will be passed along to local schools but Rhode Island will reduce the amount of state education aid to local districts by $32.9 million (less a $673,000 administrative fee) and the state money will go to fill in the budget deficit.

In all, the state is giving $686 million in education aid to 52 school districts, state-operated and charter schools for the current school year.

Officials at the U.S. Department of Education said Tuesday that using the federal money to supplant state funding is not expressly prohibited, although they cautioned they will carefully review each state’s application to ensure it follows the guidelines.