Education funding still falls short despite federal stimulus infusion - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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That was the sentiment of an eight-membedr panel of education, training and government experts gathered by the South Florida Business Journalo to examine howthe $787 billionb federal stimulus package is impacting the region’w education and workforce training The panel marked the third in the Businesw Journal’s ongoing stimulus series, aimed at tracking and analyzing the flow of moneh from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into Soutbh Florida.
Florida’s Legislature was the only one nationally to requesgt a federal waiver that allowesd it to take money from education and replac e it with stimulus dollars while other stated used stimulus dollars to augmentthe budget. The situationj concerned paneliststate Sen. Eleanor “We are not starting at the starting line. The school districtf in Broward County and those throughout the state are startinh behind thestarting line,” Sobe said. “They have had problems for yearws and they areall scrambling.
” Vetera n educator Robert Parks, a member of the Browarde County School Board, said, “Many of the large urbam districts in the nation are afraid of one which is basically a bait and switch with those What’s even more worrisome to some experts is that the stimulus money will eventually run out. “I’m reallhy concerned about in three years; what’s going to said José Vicente, president of ’sx North Campus. “This is a Band-Aid.” He said the college’sz operating budget was cut $22 million while the stimuluse money wasonly $13 million. Parks said Broward County’s schoolp system has cut $1.
4 billiojn from its construction budget in addition to furloughintg 700 teachers and51 administrators. “We’ve closed all of our schoo offices forthe summer. We don’t have summet school anymore,” Parks would have been looking at cutting its budget byabout $30 millionh without $12 million in stimulus funds, said Dorothy K. Russell, the university’sa associate VP for financia affairs andbudget director. The university cut 30 positionsxand “had we not had the stimulusw dollars it could have been much more George Hanbury, executive VP and COO of , said the $1.
3 billioh in stimulus funds given to the state reliever pressure on the Legislature to furtherd reduce support for Florida Resident Access Grants (FRAG), a key sourcew of money for students, but he pointecd out that the grants used to be $3,000 a year for students and are now $2,529. The amounr is important to students, who find enrollmengt caps at state universitiese and turn to NSU and otheerprivate institutions. He also said that universities are working together to appluy for federalstimulus funding. NSU has a collaborative proposal with and FAU fora $50 million research building with wet labs, business incubato r space and offices for the U.S.
Geological Survey, which is helping oversee Everglades restoration. “We have shovel-readyy projects we have submitted to the Governotr and in the next 60 days we couledput 1,000 people to work,” Hanbury The competition for these typex of projects, though, is fierce. FAU is getting aboutt $12 million in direct infusion from the federal stimulus but the university also is seeking money from the for labs and Russell said. April was the monthj to submit applications and the results are expectedby September. The strongesft flow of money, so far, appear s to be for programs that help the jobleses asthe state’s unemployment rate has hit 10.
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