Schools ponder how best to use stimulus funds

Georgia’s public schools could get the first batch of stimulus money in the next few weeks, but leaders are struggling over how they should spend the millions coming their way.

The first wave of money is part of the nearly $712 million set aside for special-education students, homeless children and kids from low-income homes.

Public schools and colleges also stand to receive a large part of Georgia’s $1.5 billion in stabilization money, to offset state cuts. And the U.S. Department of Education will award about $5 billion in competitive grants to states and school districts for innovative programs.

Guidelines on how districts can use some of the money will be released on Tuesday, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said.

Duncan encouraged districts to think “creatively and differently.” For example, schools can spend the money on one-time expenses — such as teacher training or technology aides for students with disabilities — that can have long-term benefits for student learning.

Local leaders say the money could be spent to train teachers, buy materials and improve technology to boost student achievement. Some budget directors say it’s difficult to justify spending money on those things when employees face furloughs and layoffs. If the money is used to save jobs, they wondered what happens to the positions when the money runs out.

“We want to spend this money to help our students do better in school but you also want to help keep people in their jobs,” said Chuck Burbridge, chief financial officer for Atlanta Public Schools. “There’s a lot we can do with this money but we really can’t do anything until we get the guidelines.”

The uncertainty discouraged Fulton, Gwinnett and other school districts from including the stimulus money as they prepare budgets for the 2010 fiscal year. Gwinnett school leaders, who are developing a list of priorities, will amend the budget once they review the spending rules and receive the money, spokeswoman Sloan Roach said.

Teams of experts with the state Education Department will meet with each district in coming weeks to discuss ways to spend the money, state schools Superintendent Kathy Cox said. The teams have reviewed each district’s spending, budget cuts and test scores to develop suggestions, although the spending decisions rest with local systems.

“I don’t have a problem with a system saying they need to upgrade technology, but I don’t want systems to just use this money to buy stuff,” Cox said. “This is the time to build capacity, maybe change job descriptions or restructure schools and really invest in personnel.”

Cox said the state is in a good position to receive some of the $5 billion in competitive grants from the U.S. Education Department. Gov. Sonny Perdue was among a handful of governors who met with Duncan in February to discuss the funding.

Perdue suggests the money could be spent on several programs already being discussed in Georgia, including one to pay math and science teachers more as a way to recruit more qualified people to the two subjects. A bill to provide these bonuses is in the state Legislature.

Cox proposed using the money to redesign high school graduation tests and implement a “growth model,” which rather than just focusing on whether kids passed, analyzes test scores to measure how much students improved from one year to the next.

“We’re going after every dollar out there and we’re going to spend wisely everything that comes our way,” Cox said.