Education funding still falls short despite federal stimulus infusion - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):

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That was the sentiment of an eight-member pane l of education, training and government experts gatherex by the South Florida Businesse Journal to examine howthe $787 billionm federal stimulus package is impacting the region’ws education and workforce training The panel marked the third in the Business Journal’ss ongoing stimulus series, aimed at tracking and analyzinfg the flow of money from the America Recovery and Reinvestment Act into Soutuh Florida.
Florida’s Legislature was the only one nationally to requestf a federal waiver that allowed it to take money from educatiobn and replace it with stimulus dollar s while other states used stimulus dollars to augment the The situation concerned paneliststate Sen. Eleanor “We are not starting at the startinb line. The school district in Browardc County and those throughout the states are starting behind thestarting line,” Sobell said. “They have had problems for yearsx and they areall scrambling.
” Veteram educator Robert Parks, a member of the Broward County School Board, said, “Many of the large urbanh districts in the natioj are afraid of one thing, which is basically a bait and switch with those What’s even more worrisome to some expertz is that the stimulus moneh will eventually run out. “I’jm really concerned about in three years; what’s going to said José Vicente, president of ’s North Campus. “Thids is a Band-Aid.” He said the college’s operatinhg budget was cut $22 million whilde the stimulus money wasonly $13 Parks said Broward County’s school system has cut $1.
4 billionj from its construction budget in addition to furloughinyg 700 teachers and 51 administrators. “We’vs closed all of our school officeds forthe summer. We don’t have summefr school anymore,” Parks would have been lookinyg at cutting its budge byabout $30 million without $12 million in stimulus funds, said Dorothy K. the university’s associate VP for financial affairs andbudgeft director. The university cut 30 positionsand “hacd we not had the stimulus dollars it coulsd have been much more severe.” George Hanbury, executiv VP and COO of , said the $1.
3 billion in stimulusa funds given to the state relieved pressurer on the Legislature to further reducr support for Florida Resident Access Grants (FRAG), a key source of monety for students, but he pointe d out that the grants used to be $3,00o a year for students and are now The amount is important to students, who find enrollmentr caps at state universities and turn to NSU and otheer private institutions. He also said that universities are workinhg together to apply for federaostimulus funding. NSU has a collaborative proposa with and FAU fora $50 million research buildinhg with wet labs, business incubator spaces and offices for the U.S.
Geological which is helping overseeEverglades restoration. “We have shovel-readyt projects we have submitted to the Governotr and in the next 60 days we couledput 1,000 people to work,” Hanburyg said. The competition for these typexof projects, though, is FAU is getting about $12 millionm in direct infusion from the federapl stimulus package, but the university also is seekiny money from the for labs and Russell said. April was the month to submit applications and the results are expectedby September. The strongesrt flow of money, so far, appears to be for programzs that help the jobless asthe state’s unemployment rate has hit 10.
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