Federal dollars OK'd Tuesday may take year to reach area school districts

Tonight, the Advance School Board will meet to consider whether the district can afford $12,000 in raises for educators. The board will make that decision without knowing when or how much the district will receive from a new infusion of federal cash into education programs nationwide.

And because of the way Missouri spends public money, a strong possibility exists that no school district will benefit from the $189 million the state anticipates as its share until the 2011-2012 school year.

On Tuesday, Congress approved a $26 billion funding bill that directs $10 billion to state governments for education programs and $16 billion to support Medicaid. Along with $189 million for primary and secondary education, the state expects about $209 million for Medicaid, budget director Linda Luebbering said.

The education funding is to allow school districts to hire or retain educators and support staff. But budgets are already in place for the school year that begins in coming days, and employment decisions were made months ago.

Advance, a district in northern Stoddard County that had 452 students last year, cut one elementary school teaching job as it sought to balance the budget, said Stan Seiler, who is beginning his first year as superintendent in Advance.

Most area districts avoided layoffs, instead leaving jobs opened by retirements or resignations unfilled, but almost all will operate this year with a smaller staff.

"We are planning the best we can, but without really solid information about concrete funding from the state," Seiler said. "We will have to take a wait-and-see attitude about what will really transpire."

The raises that will be discussed Thursday would go to educators moving up a rung on the district salary ladder. The district's reserve funds would cover the $12,000 cost if the board agrees, Seiler said.

Seiler and superintendents from five other area districts said Wednesday that they have more questions than answers about the new round of federal help. Some said they would not reverse any cuts made to balance the current budget, while others said they would like to reinstate high-priority positions like counselors and elementary teachers.

Almost all expressed worries that budgets for 2011-2012 school year could bring a new round of reductions and said it might be better if the state held its share of the new federal funding to soften the impact.

The legislature appropriated $3.45 billion for aid to school districts in the current fiscal year. That figure includes $246.5 million in federal budget stabilization funds, money that was part of the economic stimulus bill from 2009.

The stabilization fund is now empty and state revenue would have to rebound by $900 million to keep spending stable in the year beginning July 1, 2011, said Dr. Ron Anderson, superintendent of the Jackson School District.

Jackson cut 10 teaching positions when the school board passed this year's budget.

"We are most concerned about fiscal year 2012, which is next year as far as the state goes, about what the state will do with that big gap," Anderson said. "We are probably really looking at that to see if those funds would help soften that major hole that appears to be a possibility in the budget coming up."

The hurdles that would delay quick distribution of the federal education funds include a requirement that each state apply for a share, Luebbering said. Other obstacles include a state constitutional requirement that agencies may not spend money without an appropriation. Also, no fund exists in the state treasury to receive the federal aid, Luebbering said.

Gov. Jay Nixon will be working with the legislative leadership and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to understand and respond to the federal legislation, Luebbering said.

"There are a lot of things we are trying to find out," she said. "We understand there are a lot of unanswered questions and things we will have to work through very quickly."

The Meadow Heights School District near Patton cut two elementary teaching slots, the A+ schools coordinator, a part-time music teacher and a secondary education teacher, superintendent Rob Huff said. Voters rejected a tax increase Aug. 3. His highest priority would be to restore a fourth-grade elementary teacher to reduce class sizes.

But if new money doesn't come soon, it may as well wait until 2011-2012, he said, because it could be more disruptive to learning for children to change teachers.

"If funding becomes available, we will start exploring that option," he said. "But we have to ask at what point in time does it become more harmful to change."

Kevin Dunn, superintendent in Perryville, is a member of an advisory council to the state commissioner of education. His district cut 10 positions and a bus route to balance its budget. He said his position on the advisory council leads him to expect the new federal help will be spent in the 2011-2012 school year. That's the best choice, he said.

"This money will save jobs because it will lessen the cuts for next year," he said.

The Cape Girardeau School District cut 27 employee positions, said superintendent Dr. Jim Welker. Like Dunn and others, he is worried about what cuts would have to come next year. If the new federal help comes soon, he would restore two counselor positions and a school nurse, but otherwise would not relish being forced to restore jobs that would be cut again in the spring.

"We are planning on starting school tomorrow, and we are not counting on those funds," Welker said.

In the Woodland School District in Marble Hill, superintendent Jennings Wilkinson said he cut one job and has sufficient reserves, coupled with other spending restrictions, to handle this year's needs. Spending the new federal money during the 2011-2012 school year makes sense for his district, he said.

"But many schools need that right now, and fiscal 2012, we are being told, could be even more severe than 2011," he said. "But that is a decision that people at the state level will have to make."

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent addresses:

Marble Hill, MO

Advance, MO

Cape Girardeau, MO

Perryville, MO

Jackson, MO

Patton, MO