... or portables.

While another portable for Rieke is apparently (and quite short-sightedly, in my mind) not near the top of the District's short-term priority list, all eyes turn to DC and, in particular, to the stimulus package pending before Congress. Could it mean more money to use for this and other purposes of benefit to PPS schools?

More after the jump...

I expect that the District is paying particular attention to section 9301 in Subtitle C of the proposed bill (H.R. 1). From the House Committee report (scroll to p.61):

The economic recovery bill includes $14 billion for school modernization, renovation, and repair, to be allocated to States based on their FY 2008 allocation under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Act, after a one percent reservation of funds for outlying areas and Bureau of Indian Affairs schools. State educational agencies would distribute these funds, less an administrative set-aside, to school districts for school facility projects. Charter schools are eligible to receive this assistance. Allowable projects may include health and safety repairs, facility modifications to provide access for disabled students, and educational technology infrastructure upgrades, as well as projects to improve energy efficiency.

That description might call into question whether a portable could be funded directly from the appropriation, but taking a look at the actual language of the bill (see page 167 of the text) ... it's pretty broad:

(b) PURPOSE.—Grants under this section shall be for the purpose of modernizing, renovating, or repairing public school facilities, based on their need for such improvements, to be safe, healthy, high-performing, and up-to-date technologically.

That sounds more flexible than the report. There's even more detail in section 9301(e) (pages 171-74 of the bill) that reemphasizes that flexibility. At the very least, such funds would free up money that would make funding a portable or two a lot easier. It would also provide an opportunity for some much-needed repairs and "technology infrastructure upgrades" at Rieke and other schools throughout the district.

The money would be distributed (after various set-asides for administration and other expenses) in proportion to how Title I money is distributed throughout the nation. Based on my very quick reading of the data here, it looks like there was about $14B in Title I money in 2008; by coincidence (!) the bill suggests a $14B allocation for this part of the stimulus. So the proportions being the same, PPS received about $21M in Title I funds in 2008, which probably means we can expect $20M +/- $2M from the stimulus. Also note that 25 % of the funds has to be used in a manner that is consistent with LEED, Energy Star, or other environmentally-friendly approaches to whatever is purchased.

As a matter of economic policy, I have nothing more than a layman's view on the value of such a stimulus. From a purely local view, however, it looks good for the schools ... though not exactly an overwhelming windfall, once it's distributed nationally. Remember the PPS "short short term" list below gets us to $60M pretty quickly.

... or no portables

Despite the below post, Charlene announced at the January PTA meeting that apparently PPS is now -- something out of the blue, from my perspective -- considering not providing an additional portable at Rieke next year. The budget gaps are part of the problem, of course. Obviously, such a decision, if it holds, would be fundamentally inconsistent with the District's endorsement of the Rieke growth plan. Based at least on our observations of the surrounding neighborhood, it will be a full kindergarten class next year, and it wouldn't take much to fill three K classes once again. But if we don't have another classroom -- i.e., if we don't have enough space to add the third 2nd grade class (as well as three 1st and K classes) -- there's nowhere to put the kids while maintaining space for enrichment.

So that means probably no transfers -- and limited growth. Depending on the numbers, it may even be that it will mean that we can't guarantee a full day K. We'll see how this plays out over the next couple of months.

Rebuilding / Prioritization Delay; Portables?

As I discussed in this post, the School District is currently working on prioritizing the "21st Century" school rebuilding projects. That prioritization was originally expected in late winter of this year; the School Board now appears to have decided to put that decision off until the District is finished with its comprehensive review of the high school system in the district. (See here for more information from the Finance committee.) So the prioritizing won't be happening for at least another year.

On the "good news" front, the Finance committee and staff also presented the district with a budget for "short term / interim" facility expenditures. Both the long and the "short list" of those expenditures includes two portables for Rieke (at $320K each) -- consistent with the belief that the school will continue to grow. (BUT see the next post up...)