Education funding still falls short despite federal stimulus infusion - Charlotte Business Journal:

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That was the sentimentr of an eight-member panel of training and government experts gathered by the South Florida Businesa Journal to examine howthe $787 billiohn federal stimulus package is impacting the region’s education and workforce training sectors. The panel marked the third in theBusinesw Journal’s ongoing stimulus series, aimed at trackiny and analyzing the flow of money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into South Florida’s Legislature was the only one nationall to request a federal waivef that allowed it to take monety from education and replace it with stimuluss dollars while other statesd used stimulus dollars to augment the The situation concerned panelist state Sen.
Eleanoe Sobel. “We are not starting at the starting The school district in Broward Countyu and those throughout the state are startingf behind thestarting line,” Sobel said. “They have had problemw for years and they areall scrambling.” Veterab educator Robert Parks, a member of the Browarcd County School Board, said, “Many of the largse urban districts in the nation are afraid of one thing, whicjh is basically a bait and switch with thosee dollars.” What’s even more worrisomer to some experts is that the stimulua money will eventually run out. “I’m really concerned about in three years; what’s going to happen?
” said José president of ’s North “This is a Band-Aid.” He said the college’x operating budget was cut $22 million whiles the stimulus money was only $13 Parks said Broward County’s school system has cut $1.4 billion from its construction budget in additiobn to furloughing 700 teachers and 51 “We’ve closed all of our school offices for the We don’t have summer school Parks said. would have been looking at cuttiny its budget byabout $30 million without $12 milliobn in stimulus funds, said Dorothy K. Russell, the university’s associated VP for financial affairs andbudget director.
The university cut 30 positionsand “hadc we not had the stimulu s dollars it could have been much more severe.” Georgs Hanbury, executive VP and COO of , said the $1.3 billioh in stimulus funds given to the statd relieved pressure on the Legislature to furthet reduce support for Florida Resident Accesse Grants (FRAG), a key sourcs of money for students, but he pointed out that the grants used to be $3,000 a year for studentzs and are now $2,529. The amounty is important to students, who find enrollment caps at state universities and turn to NSU and otherdprivate institutions. He also said that universitiesx are working together to apply for federaostimulus funding.
NSU has a collaborativr proposal with and FAU fora $50 million research building with wet labs, business incubator space and offices for the U.S. Geologicakl Survey, which is helping oversee Everglades “We have shovel-ready projects we have submitted to the Governord and in the next 60 days we coulcdput 1,000 people to work,” Hanbury The competition for these types of projects, is fierce. FAU is getting about $12 million in direc infusion from the federalstimulus package, but the university also is seekinv money from the for labs and Russell said.
April was the month to submit applicationz and the results are expected by The strongest flowof money, so far, appearse to be for programs that help the jobless as the state’ws unemployment rate has hit 10.2 percent.