by Andrea Ruse
The Manhattan Beach Unified School District may receive up to $1.6 million after President Barack Obama earlier this month signed into legislation a bill promising $10 billion in federal stimulus funds toward education.
The measure is aimed at keeping more than 160,000 teaching jobs nationwide.
“It was a surprise when I read it in the L.A. Times a couple weeks ago,” said MBUSD superintendent of Student Services Steve Romines. “The last information we got came May 19, when the federal government said there would be no more stimulus money.”
Romines said the money could save up to 20 teaching jobs in the district next year.
“We’re looking at about $1.6 million in layoffs in the 2011 to 2012 year,” he said.
On August 10, Obama signed the bill — which will also provide $16 billion toward Medicaid — after the House of Representatives approved it 247 to 161.
Sacramento can choose one of two methods to divide the $1.2 billion cut coming to the state.
The revenue limit method would pay school districts per student. If this method is used, Romines estimates MBUSD would receive between $1.4 and $1.6 million. If the Title One method is used – in which money goes towards disadvantaged students – the district will likely receive roughly $300,000, he said.
“What we want is revenue limit,” Romines said. “We have a small Title One population in Manhattan Beach. We certainly don’t want to take away from the Title One kids. But it’s more fair to all districts that way.”
Revenue limit, which the state has used for previous stimulus funds, would also give the MBUSD school board more control over how the money is spent.
“There are huge restrictions with Title One distribution,” Romines said. “It will probably be distributed according to previous methods using revenue limit.”
In 2008, the state received its first round of federal stimulus dollars from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, $1.6 million of which came to MBUSD. Last year, the state received another $1 billion strictly toward special education.
The August 10 bill brings total direct federal spending on the economy to nearly $1.2 trillion since the nationwide recession hit in late 2007.
As ARRA funds will inevitably dry up next year, Romines said the Board would be wise to save the money to shore up next year’s resulting “funding cliff.”
“We can save it for up to two years and use it so we don’t have to lay anybody off in the 2011 to 2012 school year,” he said.
Although 17 pink slips were sent out to teachers in the district for this school year, none were laid off due to a counterbalance of resignations and retirements.
“We had attrition of almost the same number leaving as we laid off,” Romines said. “We were really blessed on that one.”
However, the district did not rehire nine temporary contract teachers, contributing toward increased class sizes this year for some grade levels. The student-to-teacher ratio for grades K-3 will increase from 20:1 to 22:1 and grades 4-5 from 30:1 to 31:1. Grades 6-12 will maintain a 32:1 ratio.
Romines said that if all runs smoothly in the funneling of the funds from the federal government to the state to the schools, the district may expect to see money late December or early January.
“But we all see how the government works,” he said. “How many times does it run like clockwork?” he said.
The MBUSD Board will begin discussing how the money will be used at its September 15 meeting. ER
