Will Obama's economic plan really help local schools?

HARLEM VALLEY — President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus package was passed through the House of Representatives last Wednesday, Jan. 28, and bundled inside the lengthy document might be a ray of sunshine for local school districts.

Of the $819 billion proposed in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, $142 billion is allotted for education, more than double the country’s current budget.

Important earmarks include $20 billion for renovations ($14 billion of which would be available to elementary and secondary schools) and $79 billion in state fiscal relief to prevent cutbacks to key services, $39 billion of which would be distributed to local school districts and public colleges and universities through existing state and federal formulas.

Both the Webutuck and Pine Plains school districts have been busy in the last few months preparing for Gov. David Paterson’s proposed budget cutbacks. The Pine Plains Board of Education recently voted to move forward with the reconfiguration of elementary school demographics to save money, and Webutuck is considering closing the Amenia Elementary School building to cut costs.

Both district superintendents Linda Kaumeyer of Pine Plains and Richard Johns of Webutuck stressed that news of Obama’s stimulus package would not have an effect on their current plans.

“There is no relation between the two,� Kaumeyer said, explaining that while the House may have passed the bill, there is still another bill to be passed through the Senate, and when it comes out the other side there is a good chance it will be in a compromised form.

“Yes, it would impact [the district] monumentally,� Johns said, “but everything is hypothetical at this point: the governor’s budget, the president’s economic stimulus package. The one thing that’s not is that the state doesn’t have the coffers anymore. That’s real and we’re going to feel that.�

Johns said there is going to be a significant amount of budget-cutting (he is scheduled to give his budget proposal on March 2) no matter what the president’s proposed stimulus package turns out to be. The question, according to Johns, is how much red ink there will be and how much cutting will be needed.

If additional funds do come through, he said the Board of Education would be in a position to add back programs as opposed to finding new cuts.

“By next year we should have a better idea of where the economy is headed,� he added. “By some projections, the economy is scheduled for an upswing by next fall. But you don’t want the pendulum to swing too far in the other direction.�

Webutuck is currently awaiting approval for its EXCEL ( (EXpanding our Children’s Education and Learning) project funding, part of which will be used to replace the roof on the Millerton Elementary School building. But Johns pointed out that the money is already there, if approved, and any additional funding through a stimulus package would go to other projects.

“We’ve developed a long-range facility plan,� he said. “No matter how the board might deviate from that, there are always projects in that document that can be addressed if there is money available to do it.�

Kaumeyer was more specific on how her district would spend additional stimulus funding.

Under current configurations, Kaumeyer said it looked like the district would receive additional funds in three categories: Title 1A, IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which funds special education programs) and construction.

If the funds become a reality, the first two categories will be augmented through programs that would benefit students and associate teacher training. The district already receives funds from these grants, but Kaumeyer said an increase would be welcomed. It is estimated that there would be an additional $46,000 for Title 1A and $175,000 for IDEA. Construction funds would also be increased by $175,000.

“To give an idea of how welcome that would be,� Kaumeyer said, “we have tried to budget in our last three or four years an amount of about $100,000 [for construction].�

She said additional funding would free up at least $100,000 that the district wouldn’t have to spend. The district is currently in the midst of repairing the Seymour Smith Elementary building, which is in dire need of attention, according to a construction presentation given at a Board of Education meeting last year.

“Are the amounts welcome? Certainly,� she said. “Are they so tremendous that they would be magic bullets? No.�

Kaumeyer reported that recent increases in federal funding have been small if any, and for many years state-wide funding for special needs students has fallen far below the actual cost of the mandated programs.

Both districts will continue to prepare themselves for even more difficult times, and no one expects the federal government to bail them out.

Johns said he didn’t want his district to be caught in a difficult position in the future.

“What it’s going to boil down to in terms of exact numbers is a dart game,� he said.

“The district is following the progress [of the economic stimulus package] as the media is reporting on it,� Kaumeyer said, “just like people everywhere across the country. The actual stimulus bill itself is vast in scope. Education is only one part.�