By TONY MARQUIS and AUBRIE GEORGE
Local school districts aren’t sure what they’ll do with their share of $262 million in federal funds given out to New Jersey schools recently.
Superintendents plan to meet with their respective school boards to decide how to best spend newly received money from an education jobs bill passed by both houses last month.
The Evesham Township School District is slated to receive a $500,384 grant, while Lenape Regional High School District will receive $1,026,888. Though the bill was passed to save teacher jobs or prevent school district layoffs, it’s likely the money has come too late to make an impact this year.
After a heavy drop in state aid, LRHSD cut 111 positions — including 24 teachers — to attempt to balance its $126 million budget for the 2010–11 school year.
Acting Commissioner of Education Rochelle Hendricks sent a letter to state superintendents and school boards, urging officials to hold off on spending the money until next year and not to use it for long-term positions.
“It is unwise to assume that there will be additional streams of federal jobs money in planning for the future,” said Hendricks in the letter.
LRHSD Superintendent Emily Capella plans to make recommendations for the money at the Board of Education’s October meeting. The money may help reinstate a few campus security positions that were set to be cut in January, according to Capella.
“We’re going to be very conservative in our approach to this,” Capella said. “I don’t want to hire teaching staff members and have to let them go next year.”
Evesham K-8 district’s superintendent, John Scavelli, Jr., said there had been some discussion about how to use the money at the Sept. 23 board of education meeting.
“Although nothing has been formally decided as of this date, my current recommendation regarding the usage of this money is to apply it toward the 2011–12 school year,” he said.
The K-8 district presented a 2010 budget to that public that included the loss of 10.5 full-time equivalent positions.
After the budget failed at the polls, teachers agreed to take contract concessions in exchange for no further layoffs in addition to those already planned under the budget.
Scavelli said the federal grant would likely help in budgeting for next school year.
“Although it doesn’t completely solve the upcoming budget difficulties, it will certainly help in our efforts to retain staff and/or educational programs for the 2011–12 school year,” Scavelli said.
