West Clark Community Schools lays out plan for stimulus money

By TARA HETTINGER, Evening News
Tara.Hettinger@newsandtribune.com

The West Clark Community Schools board decided Thursday night how to spend nearly $700,000 in stimulus funds after a 3-2 and 5-0 vote on the two separate proposals.

The first, which includes $238,000 for Title 1 use, will go toward funding instructional coaches that will focus on data from student testing results to help teachers refocus instruction in an effort to improve student performance.

The second, totaling $457,206, is set aside for special needs expenses. So, West Clark will use those funds to pay salaries and other expenses that they normally pay out of its general fund for special needs program. That will free up that same amount for technology updates, including new mini-computer labs, projectors, interactive white boards, laptops and more. Denise Bessler, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, said that this is an allowed way to use the money.

"[The stimulus money] gives us a boost to implement some of the things we wanted to do anyway," Bessler said.

Before voting no on the first part, board member Brian Hurst said he felt coaches were being expected to do too much with too little time.

After the meeting, Doug Coffman, who was the second nay vote, explained his reasoning.

"I just felt like there should be other options to consider," Coffman said, adding that it's a lot of money to put into one program.

Bessler said that program will be able to have lasting effects long after the stimulus money is gone, since teachers will still have the knowledge they gained from the coaches. In a report she presented to the board, it showed that federal Title 1 money received in the future would go toward continuing this program on a smaller scale.