Monday - January 26, 2009
Good morning! Even though last week was a four-day week, it was a very busy week and an exciting week. I know that many of our students watched the inauguration of our new president and there was a lot of conversation regarding this inauguration. Certainly it was a historical moment and I know that there were many teachable moments with our students. I can remember watching the inauguration of presidents back to John Kennedy, and it is always such a significant and historical event for our country. No matter what our particular beliefs about politics, we want every president to be successful and lead our country to greater heights and prosperity and lead in a way that maintains us as a leader in the world. One of the things that are being considered in Washington, D.C. at this time is an economics stimulus package. You may have read or heard in the news that the City of San Antonio was asked to submit a list of potential projects that could be included in such a package. We did receive a letter from City Manager Sheryl Sculley as well as Congressman Ciro Rodriguez asking us to submit those projects for which we might serve the needs of the district as well as the stimulus package. We did submit a list to City Manager Sculley and to each of our Congressmen and our U.S. Senators. The projects we submitted were in the areas of student safety, technology, repair and renovation, and energy conservation. These projects were within the guidelines outlined and were projects that could commence immediately and be substantially completed by the end of calendar year 2010. Whether any of these projects will be funded is to be determined, but I do appreciate the opportunity for schools to be included for consideration. After submission of this list we received information about a bill that will be considered in Congress entitled the American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009. The information received outlined a package that is being considered by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations. This is an $825 billion economic stimulus package which outlined several areas for consideration of which one area was "Education for the 21st Century." In this House version about $240 billion is outlined for use in various areas of education. One of the mechanisms used to distribute this money could and would be through current laws. In a printout of what the House bill provided, Northside ISD would receive a total of $45,933,000 over a period of two years. The first year we would receive $29,798,500 and the second year $16,134,500. It would come in three areas: Title I, Construction, and IDEA (special education funding). The amounts projected are:
Whether any of this funding ever reaches the school district is still to be determined, but again I am appreciative of the fact that education is receiving some recognition and priority in determining how an economic stimulus package might be used. No doubt the increase in Title I funding could help us provide more services and programs to serve economically disadvantaged students. The IDEA funding would certainly help us with the increased cost we are experiencing in providing special education services. The funds for construction could help us in addressing additional maintenance and repair issues at our campuses. I look forward to the continuing conversation that Congress will have about the stimulus package and the inclusion of funds for the support of our schools. As this is occurring at the federal level, the state legislature will soon begin considering funding issues at the state level. This week the House and Senate released budget recommendations for the 2010-11 biennium. In these recommendations an additional $1.9 billion is for PK-12 education contingent upon the passage and enactment of legislation that would return the school finance system to a formula system that improves equity. This $1.9 billion would be in addition to the $1.5 billion that would be needed to pay for the growth of students in the state. On the surface I am very pleased with this proposal because certainly we need to move away from the target revenue system we are now under to the formula system which certainly would be more equitable. Northside would benefit from this proposal since we would receive additional funding for our growth and additional funding through the formula system as proposed. It is the time of year we begin working on our budget for the 2009-2010 school year and it is imperative that additional funding is provided to help us meet the issues related to funding caused by the economic downturn and address some of the increased costs we have had because of inflation and unfunded mandates. Much of my time will be spent working with our finance staff as we project revenues, build our budget, and determine what increases in funding might result from legislative action. Both the economic stimulus package at the federal level and the budget recommendation at the state level hold some promise for Northside. I hope my optimism about this remains and we continue to be encouraged about possible funding potential. In closing, I want to mention that January is School Board Recognition Month in the state of Texas. I often mention how good our Board is and how hard they work to ensure the success of the students in our district. I appreciate them very much and I appreciate the fact that they have the focus of what is best educationally for the students and the district. If you see one of our Board members, I encourage you to express your appreciation to them for all they do to make Northside such a great district. We Believe in what we do and We Believe in success for each child. This, along with your hard work and the support of a great Board of Trustees, simply makes Northside great! Have a wonderful week! |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
