By Brandi Watters, Herald Bulletin
ANDERSON - As the stimulus money makes its way through Washington, local school officials have already begun compiling wish lists for projects that might be funded by the plan.
Alexandria is interested in upgrading the science labs and technology at schools, while Elwood is interested in making building improvements. Anderson, meanwhile, is hoping dollars slated for school construction will remain intact to help the school update its facilities and assist in the transition after school closures.
Though more than $5 million is expected to be injected into the Anderson Community Schools system, Superintendent Mikella Lowe does not believe the money will have an impact on the district's general fund.
This may mean that the funding won't save any schools slated for closure due to budget constraints.
The school district went public late last year with plans to consider school closing options.
Both Title 1 and special education funding are strictly regulated and can only be applied toward costs specific to those programs.
This will mean that Anderson schools cannot apply any of the $4.8 million from the two funds to the district general fund.
The stimulus also contains billions in school construction funding, but the numbers have not been finalized or made known to school officials.
Lowe believes the district may receive $3,596,500 for construction costs and capital improvements to existing facilities, but this number was released in January and a finalized construction statement has not been given to ACS officials.
Elwood Superintendent Tom Austin is also waiting to find out what his district will get in construction costs since it's the most flexible of all three funding categories.
Austin believes the school could receive $655,800 for construction and capital improvements.
That number, he said, was sent to him on Jan. 22 in an e-mail from the Indiana Association of School Business Officials.
There has been no update to the figure.
"Everything so far hasn't been exceptionally clear," Austin said. He is not sure whether or not school construction and modernization funds survived the final draft of the stimulus bill.
If the $655,800 does become available, Austin said it could help offset the cost of the current effort to install a new HVAC system.
School officials in Elwood would also like to install new bleachers at the high school and make upgrades to the school's technology systems.
In any case, the funding won't help the general fund, which pays teachers.
Some Title 1 funding can be used to pay teacher salaries under certain circumstances.
Lowe said if modernization and construction funding comes through, and can be used at the school's discretion, the funding could help the school in moving teachers around after schools have been closed.
Alice Mehaffey, Alexandria's interim superintendent, said schools would be hard-pressed to find grants for programs and improvement projects without stimulus funding. "It's just completely dried up. It is needed. In the big scheme of things, in the last couple of years, all of the important competitive grants that we've received for technology, all of those grants have dried up."
Mehaffey would like to use any grant money to improve the district's media center. "We don't have enough books, in my opinion," she said.
In addition to the three funding areas for general education in the K-12 setting, the stimulus includes funding for Head Start and early education programs.
More than $2 billion has been allotted for Head Start.
"We'd love to have it all," joked Helen Poole, director of the Madison County Urban League Head Start program.
Poole said Head Start programs have been 'flat-funded' in the past and that her staff hasn't seen a raise in three years.
She also said new requirements are forcing teachers to get further credentials. Stimulus funding could help get current teachers back to school for new certifications.
"We always need equipment for children," Poole said, explaining that the money could be spent in any number of ways. "We would like to expand, of course."
The center can only afford to serve 306 children, she said, but has a waiting list of more than 170 students.
There is no indication yet, she said, of how much the local Head Start programs will receive in federal stimulus funding.