Craig Davison, For The News-Dispatch
MICHIGAN CITY - The Michigan City Area Schools board by a 6-1 vote Tuesday night approved the administration's plans to spend almost $3.5 million in one-time federal stimulus money and more than $2.3 million in basic Title I funding.
The stimulus money comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The district is receiving more than $1.85 million for special education and more than $1.5 million for Title 1 funding.
Jan Radford, MCAS director of K-12 curriculum, said the plan for special education funding would include: about $71,000 for pre-kindergarten education; $1.2 million for contracted services, $810,000 of which will fund the new Fast ForWord program; and $250,000 for a special education bus that is wheelchair accessible.
Radford said the Title 1 stimulus money plan would include purchasing laptops for elementary teachers and literacy coaches, buying instructional materials and funding the Read 180 program, which targets students reading two years below grade level beginning in the fourth grade.
Board member Beryle Burgwald was the lone no vote on both measures and said he has problems with some parts of the plan, like the requirements that some of the money benefit non-public schools in some way, such as the district loaning laptops.
The district's Title 1 Basic Grant for the 2009-2010 school year would spend $2.3 million in areas such as: $745,000 to pre-kindergarten education, $235,000 to professional development and $624,000 to Title 1 schools, said Thomas Dombowski, Title 1 program coordinator.
The Fast ForWord contract, funded by one of the stimulus plans, also was approved later in the meeting.
This computer software would allow students to work for 30 minutes a day in language arts at an individual pace and provide immediate feedback, Radford said. The software, used in districts across the nation, would help improve language arts scores on ISTEP testing, help struggling students catch up and let gifted kids move forward, she said.
Board member Kathryn Lee said Fast ForWord has a strong auditory part since it will help focus on listening skills and improve students struggling with poor auditory diagnosis skills.
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