Schools learn their share of N.J. grant
School district officials learned Monday how the New Jersey Department of Education will distribute nearly $263 million in federal Education Jobs Act money recently awarded to the state.
School district officials learned Monday how the New Jersey Department of Education will distribute nearly $263 million in federal Education Jobs Act money recently awarded to the state.
Camden schools will receive $9.3 million, the region's largest grant. Statewide, allocations range from $103 for Teterboro to almost $24 million for Newark.
Districts have considerable latitude in what they choose to spend the funds on, including most school positions and support services.
But Acting Education Commissioner Rochelle R. Hendricks, in a letter to school officials statewide, advised districts "to avoid spending decisions that would significantly grow future-year obligations that could prove to be unsustainable."
The allocations were made according to New Jersey's education-funding formula, which also determined each district's share of almost $820 million in state aid cuts in the current academic year.
Among the factors the formula considers is the level of poverty in the district.
Camden School Board President Susan Dunbar-Bey was unsure Monday how the money would be spent, but said, "I know it can be put to a good use."
Pat Austin, business administrator for Pemberton Township schools, said her district appreciated the $2.8 million it was allocated.
Many local education officials had said they were waiting to hear how much they would receive before deciding how to use the money, part of a $10 billion package passed by Congress last month.
Because it is a onetime grant, some superintendents were hesitant to hire or rehire staff, especially since classes and schedules for the academic year had been set.
In Collingswood, an enrollment surge necessitated hiring a kindergarten teacher and a part-time instructor for students with disabilities, positions the roughly $363,000 in federal funds will pay for, said Superintendent Scott Oswald. But he will not restore eliminated jobs, he said.
Instead, Oswald said he would recommend to his school board that the balance go toward the 2011-12 school year.
Districts have until Sept. 30, 2012, to commit their funding.
They will receive the money in the form of reimbursement of expenses, according to the state.
In addition to the $263 million to be distributed among districts, the state received $5 million to cover the program's administrative costs.
