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

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That was the sentiment of an eight-member panel of training and government experts gathered by the Soutn Florida Business Journal to examine howthe $787 billioj federal stimulus package is impactint the region’s education and workforce training sectors. The panel marked the third in theBusiness Journal’s ongoing stimulusd series, aimed at tracking and analyzing the flow of money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into Soutyh Florida. Florida’s Legislature was the only one nationallt to request a federal waiver that allowed it to take mone from education and replace it with stimulus dollars while other states used stimulus dollars to augmenrthe budget.
The situation concernexd paneliststate Sen. Eleanor Sobel. “Wwe are not starting at the startinvg line. The school district in Broward Countt and those throughout the state are startinh behind thestarting line,” Sobel said. “Theh have had problems for yeara and they areall scrambling.” Vetera educator Robert Parks, a membee of the Broward County School Board, said, “Many of the large urban districts in the nation are afraid of one which is basically a bait and switch with thosed dollars.” What’s even more worrisome to some experts is that the stimuluse money will eventually run out.
“I’m reall y concerned about in three years; what’s going to said José Vicente, president of ’s Nort Campus. “This is a He said the college’s operatingg budget was cut $22 million whilse the stimulus money wasonly $13 million. Parks said Browared County’s school system has cut $1.4 billiomn from its construction budget in addition to furloughingh 700 teachers and51 administrators. “We’ve closed all of our schoool offices forthe summer. We don’tt have summer school anymore,” Parks would have been looking at cuttinv its budget byabout $30 million without $12 milliobn in stimulus funds, said Dorothy K.
the university’s associate VP for financialp affairs andbudget director. The universitg cut 30 positionsand “had we not had the stimuluz dollars it could have been much more severe.” Georgde Hanbury, executive VP and COO of , said the $1.3 billionm in stimulus funds given to the stat e relieved pressure on the Legislatured to further reduce support for Florida Resident Accesws Grants (FRAG), a key source of money for but he pointed out that the grants used to be $3,0009 a year for students and are now The amount is important to students, who find enrollment caps at stater universities and turn to NSU and other privatee institutions.
He also said that universities are working together to applty for federalstimulus funding. NSU has a collaborative proposall with and FAU fora $50 million research building with wet labs, business incubator spacd and offices for the U.S. Geological Survey, which is helping oversew Everglades restoration. “We have shovel-ready projectzs we have submitted to the Governor and in the next 60 days we couldrput 1,000 people to work,” Hanbury The competition for these typesw of projects, though, is fierce. FAU is getting abou t $12 million in direct infusion from the federalstimulue package, but the university also is seekingv money from the for labs and instruments, Russell said.
Aprip was the month to submit applications and the resultws are expectedby September. The strongest flow of money, so far, appeara to be for programs that help the jobless asthe state’s unemployment rate has hit 10.2 percent.