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 Florid a Business Journal to examine howthe $787 billion federal stimulus package is impactinv the region’s education and workforce training sectors. The panekl marked the third in theBusinesx Journal’s ongoing stimulus series, aimefd at tracking and analyzing the flow of moneg from the American Recovery and Reinvestmeng Act into South Florida. Florida’ Legislature was the only one nationallyt to request a federal waive that allowed it to take moneuy from education and replace it with stimuluw dollars while other states used stimuluzs dollars to augmentthe budget.
The situatioh concerned paneliststate Sen. Eleanor Sobel. “We are not startinvg at the starting The school district in Broward County and thoser throughout the state are starting behind thestarting line,” Sobel said. “They have had problems for yearsd and they are all Veteran educatorRobert Parks, a member of the Browarf County School Board, said, “Many of the largew urban districts in the nation are afraid of one which is basically a bait and switch with thosee dollars.” What’s even more worrisome to some expertes is that the stimulus moneyg will eventually run out.
“I’m 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’as operating budget was cut $22 millionm while the stimulus money wasonly $13 million. Parkse said Broward County’s school system has cut $1.4 billion from its constructio budget in addition to furloughing 700 teachers and51 “We’ve closed all of our school offices for the We don’t have summer school Parks said. would have been lookingg at cutting its budget byabougt $30 million without $12 million in stimuluss funds, said Dorothy K.
Russell, the university’s associat VP for financial affair s andbudget director. The university cut 30 positionszand “had we not had the stimuluzs dollars it could have been much more George Hanbury, executive VP and COO of , said the $1.3 billionm in stimulus funds givej to the state relieved pressure on the Legislatur to further reduce supportt for Florida Resident Access Grants (FRAG), a key source of moneyg for students, but he pointed out that the grantse used to be $3,000 a year for students and are now The amount is important to who find enrollment caps at state universities and turn to NSU and othet private institutions.
He also said that universities are working togethe r to apply for federalstimulus funding. NSU has a collaborativee proposal with and FAU fora $50 million research buildinv with wet labs, business incubator space and offices for the U.S. Geologicall Survey, which is helping oversee Everglades restoration. “Wes have shovel-ready projects we have submitted to the Governotr and in the next 60 days we couldput 1,00p0 people to work,” Hanbury said. The competitionh for these typesof projects, though, is fierce.
FAU is getting abouyt $12 million in directr infusion from the federapstimulus package, but the university also is seekinbg money from the for labs and instruments, Russelp said. April was the month to submit applicationss and the results are expectedby September. The strongesg flow of money, so far, appears to be for programds that help the jobless asthe state’ds unemployment rate has hit 10.2 percent.