ABERDEEN — The Matawan- Aberdeen School District will use federal stimulus funds to expand programs for special-needs students for the 2009-10 school year.
The Board of Education announced at its Oct. 12 meeting that the district received an award of $1.7 million under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). As part of the 2009-10 Board of Education goals, the district has taken an active role in keeping special-education students within the district.
Superintendent Richard O’Malley explained that ARRA is a short-term infusion of funding with the goal of producing a long-term benefit.
“We’ve created a tremendous amount of in-district programs,” O’Malley said. “One of our goals is to create programs for kids with special needs and to also bring those students who went outside the district because we didn’t have these programs back into the district with quality programs. We go from preschool to elementary all the way up to the high school. This is unique for our district to be this aggressive in creating programs, but we have a lot of programs occurring that are going to be very successful.”
However, several board members expressed concern that the district should not rely on stimulus money alone for special education programs.
O’Malley said ARRA is expected to be temporary.
According to the federal government, the funds, depending on the program, are available for only two to three years and should be invested in ways that do not result in unsustainable continuing commitments after the funding expires. According to the government, $53 billion has been allocated for education and training nationwide.
“As a district, we seek to have a stable source of funding from sources other than the local tax levy,” said Charles Kenny, board president. “This $1.7 stimulus, in part, permitted us to have a zero tax levy increase this budget year. We are now aware that this stimulus money will not be a recurring revenue source. Positively, it allowed us to not jeopardize approximately 25 teaching positions by having these funds in our budget.”
The funding will be divided into various parts over the next two years and will conclude in 2011.
The board approved the acceptance of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA-B) combined with funds for the fiscal year 2010.
According to the federal government, Part B of the IDEA provides funds to state educational agencies (SEAs) and through them to local educational agencies (LEAs) to ensure that children with disabilities, including children ages 3-5, have access to a free appropriate public education to meet each child’s unique needs and prepare each child for further education, employment and independent living.
A $798,312 grant was allocated for IDEA Basic and $20,326 for IDEA Preschool, according to municipal documents.
The board also approved ARRA funding for the Handle With Care Behavioral Management program, the Lindamood- Bell Learning Processes, and VBN Training and Consultation.
The Lindamood-Bell Reading Program, which focuses on phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension, is being piloted at Matawan-Aberdeen Middle School and Matawan Regional High School. The program received $68,000 in funding.
V
BN Training and Consultation,
which received $22,500 in funding, provides a series of workshops and training for teachers to work with children with autism and other developmental disabilities.
H
andle With Care, a crisis invention
and prevention training service, received the least amount of aid at $4,400.
“We stayed true to our mission to provide the best education for the students of this district while maintaining fiscal responsibility which resulted in a zero tax levy increase for the school budget,” Kenny said. “However, we do not yet know if these funds will be available to us next year, which puts not only our district but other districts across the state in an uncomfortable position. Of course, if the funds are not present again next year, we are concerned as to what impact that it could have on our educational programming. That is why we continue to be financially conservative and very mindful of the burden to our taxpayers.”
Under the ARRA, the IDEA Part B ARRA funds are provided under three authorities: $11.3 billion is available under Part B Grants to States, and $400 million is available under Part B Preschool Grants overall.
The next board meeting will be held Oct. 26 at the Lloyd Road School in Aberdeen at 8 p.m.