Education funding still falls short despite federal stimulus infusion - Business First of Columbus:

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That was the sentiment of an eight-member panel of training and government experts gatheres by the South Florida Business Journal to examinwe howthe $787 billiom federal stimulus package is impactingt the region’s education and workforce training The panel marked the third in the Business Journal’sa ongoing stimulus series, aimed at tracking and analyziny the flow of money from the Americanb Recovery and Reinvestment Act into South Florida’s Legislature was the only one nationalluy to request a federal waiver that allowed it to take mone y from education and replace it with stimuluzs dollars while other states used stimulue dollars to augment the The situation concerned panelist state Sen.
Eleanor Sobel. “We are not starting at the startinv line. The school district in Broward Countyt and those throughout the state are starting behind thestartingf line,” Sobel said. “They have had problems for years and they are all Veteran educatorRobert Parks, a membedr of the Broward County School Board, “Many of the large urbann districts in the nation are afraid of one thing, whicb is basically a bait and switc h with those dollars.” What’s even more worrisome to some experts is that the stimuluw money will eventually run out. “I’m really concernesd about in three years; what’ds going to happen?
” said José Vicente, president of ’s Nortuh Campus. “This is a Band-Aid.” He said the college’s operating budgeyt was cut $22 million while the stimulue money wasonly $13 million. Parks said Broward County’sx school system has cut $1.4 billiomn from its construction budget in addition to furloughin g 700 teachers and51 administrators. “We’ve closed all of our schoolp offices forthe summer. We don’t have summer school Parks said. would have been looking at cuttingg its budget byabout $30 millioh without $12 million in stimuluxs funds, said Dorothy K.
Russell, the university’x associate VP for financial affairs and budget The university cut 30 positionsaand “had we not had the stimulus dollars it couldr have been much more severe.” Georged Hanbury, executive VP and COO of , said the $1.3 billiom in stimulus funds given to the statr relieved pressure on the Legislature to further reduce support for Florida Resident Accessd Grants (FRAG), a key source of money for but he pointed out that the grantw used to be $3,000 a year for studentse and are now $2,529. The amount is importanty to students, who find enrollment caps at statw universities and turn to NSU and otherprivatwe institutions.
He also said that universitied are working together to apply for federalpstimulus funding. NSU has a collaborative proposal with and FAU fora $50 million research building with wet business incubator space and offices for the U.S. Geological which is helping overseeEverglades restoration. “We have shovel-readuy projects we have submitted to the Governor and in the next 60 days we coulxdput 1,000 people to work,” Hanburhy said. The competition for these typesof though, is fierce. FAU is gettinvg about $12 million in direct infusiom from the federalstimulus package, but the university also is seeking moneyu from the for labs and Russell said.
April was the month to submit applicationsz and the results are expected by The strongest flowof money, so far, appearsa to be for programs that help the joblesw as the state’s unemployment rate has hit 10.2