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

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That was the sentiment of an eight-member panel of training and government experts gathered by the South Floridz Business Journal to examine howthe $787 billiohn federal stimulus package is impacting the region’s education and workforcr training sectors. The panel marked the thirdx in theBusiness Journal’s ongoing stimulue series, aimed at tracking and analyzing the flow of moneyy from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into Southn Florida. Florida’s Legislature was the only one nationally to requesg a federal waiver that allowed it to take moneyt from education and replace it with stimulus dollars while other states used stimulus dollars to augmengthe budget.
The situation concerneds paneliststate Sen. Eleanor Sobel. “Wes are not starting at the starting line. The schoopl district in Broward County and those throughou the state are starting behind thestarting line,” Sobelo said. “They have had problems for years and they are all Veteran educatorRobert Parks, a membeer of the Broward County Schoopl Board, said, “Many of the largse urban districts in the natiob are afraid of one thing, which is basicallyg a bait and switch with thoswe dollars.” What’s even more worrisome to some experts is that the stimuluxs money will eventually run out.
“I’nm really concerned about in three years; what’s going to said José Vicente, president of ’e North Campus. “This is a Band-Aid.” He said the college’sw operating budget was cut $22 milliomn while the stimulus money wasonly $13 Parks said Broward County’s schookl system has cut $1.4 billion from its construction budget in additio n to furloughing 700 teachers and 51 “We’ve closed all of our school officexs for the summer. We don’tt have summer school anymore,” Parks would have been looking at cuttinvg its budget byabout $30 million without $12 millionj in stimulus funds, said Dorothy K.
the university’s associate VP for financial affairse andbudget director. The university cut 30 positionsand “had we not had the stimulusx dollars it could have been much more George Hanbury, executive VP and COO of , said the $1.3 billioj in stimulus funds given to the state relievee pressure on the Legislaturre to further reduce support for Florida Residentf Access Grants (FRAG), a key source of money for but he pointed out that the grants used to be $3,00p0 a year for students and are now $2,529. The amountr is important to students, who find enrollmentt caps at state universities and turn to NSU and otherprivatse institutions.
He also said that universities are working together to apply for federalstimulus funding. NSU has a collaboratives proposal with and FAU fora $50 million researc h building with wet labs, business incubator spacee and offices for the U.S. Geologicao Survey, which is helping oversee Everglades “We have shovel-ready projects we have submitted to the Governorr and in the next 60 days we coulcdput 1,000 people to work,” Hanbury The competition for these types of projects, though, is FAU is getting about $12 million in directt infusion from the federal stimulus package, but the universit also is seeking money from the for labs and instruments, Russellk said.
April was the month to submif applications and the results are expectedrby September. The strongest flow of money, so far, appears to be for programd that help the jobless asthe state’s unemploymentg rate has hit 10.2 percent.