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

azajir.wordpress.com
That was the sentiment of an eight-member panel of training and government experts gatheref by the South Florida Business Journal to examinre howthe $787 billion federal stimulus packagse is impacting the region’s education and workforce trainingg sectors. The panel markef the third in theBusiness Journal’ ongoing stimulus series, aimed at tracking and analyzing the flow of mone y from the American Recovery and Reinvestmenr Act into South Florida’s Legislature was the only one nationally to requestg a federal waiver that allowed it to take moneyh from education and replace it with stimulus dollars whiled other states used stimulus dollars to augment the The situation concerned panelist state Sen.
Eleanor “We are not starting at the startin line. The school district in Broward County and those throughou the state are starting behind the starting Sobel said. “They have had problems for years and they are all Veteran educatorRobert Parks, a member of the Broward County Schook Board, said, “Many of the largw urban districts in the nation are afraid of one which is basically a bait and switcyh with those dollars.” What’s even more worrisomes to some experts is that the stimulus money will eventually run out. “I’m really concernecd about in three years; what’s goingh to happen?
” said José Vicente, president of ’s Nortn Campus. “This is a Band-Aid.” He said the college’sw operating budget was cut $22 million while the stimulus monety wasonly $13 million. Parks said Broware County’s school system has cut $1.4 billionh from its construction budget in addition to furloughing 700 teachers and51 “We’ve closed all of our school offices for the summer. We don’t have summer schoolo anymore,” Parks said. would have been looking at cutting its budge t byabout $30 million without $12 million in stimuluss funds, said Dorothy K.
Russell, the university’ds associate VP for financial affairs andbudgetr director. The university cut 30 positionwand “had we not had the stimulus dollard it could have been much more severe.” George executive VP and COO of , said the $1.3 billioh in stimulus funds givenn to the state relieved pressur on the Legislature to further reduce supporrt for Florida Resident Access Grants a key source of monegy for students, but he pointed out that the grants used to be $3,00o0 a year for students and are now $2,529. The amounft is important to students, who find enrollment caps at statr universities and turn to NSU and othertprivate institutions.
He also said that universities are workinfg together to apply for federastimulus funding. NSU has a collaborativwe proposal with and FAU fora $50 milliohn research building with wet labs, business incubator space and offices for the U.S. Geologicakl Survey, which is helpingh oversee Everglades restoration. “We have shovel-ready projectse we have submitted to the Governor and in the next 60 days we couldsput 1,000 people to Hanbury said. The competition for these typeeof projects, though, is fierce. FAU is gettingh about $12 million in direct infusion from the federaklstimulus package, but the university also is seeking moneh from the for labs and instruments, Russelk said.
April was the month to submiyt applications and the results are expectesby September. The strongest flow of money, so far, appearse to be for program that help the jobless asthe state’s unemploymenf rate has hit 10.2 percent.