The cash-strapped school districts of Ansonia and Derby are waiting to see how and when the state will dole out hundreds of thousands of dollars targeted for reform efforts at poor-performing schools.
Applications to obtain the new cash are scheduled to be submitted to the state Aug. 15.
The figures discussed so far — more than $500,000 for Ansonia and about $280,000 for Derby.
The money is part of Gov. Dannel Malloy’s education reform bill, and is slated to be distributed by the state Department of Education to the 30 lowest performing school districts in the state, known as “Alliance Districts.”
It’s early in the process. The reform bill was signed into law in May, and most of the details about the Alliance District grants are still being worked out.
The state Board of Education is scheduled to approve guidelines for the Alliance District program June 6. An information session for Alliance District schools is scheduled for June 11.
Meanwhile, school officials in both Derby and Ansonia are stressing that the grants can’t be used to fill in the gaps left by budget tightening in each city.
According to a letter from Stefan Pryor, the state’s Education Commissioner, the state “will likely require that districts reserve the substantial majority of conditional funding for new reform efforts, or the extension of existing reform efforts, that are specifically designed to improve student achievement.”
In addition, the Alliance District designation will last for five years, according to Pryor.
Pryor’s letter is published below. Article continues after the letter.
Alliance District Letter 5 – 25
Politics
The Alliance District money has become a political football locally — and the checks haven’t even been cut yet.
On the night his city’s tax board was scheduled to adopt a budget for next year, Derby Mayor Anthony Staffieri used the alliance district money, in part, to argue for a zero-increase for Derby Public Schools.
Some new programs in Derby schools — such as proposed “transition classes” for struggling students — would be covered under the new state money, Staffieri argued.
However, Derby Schools Superintendent Stephen Tracy said Staffieri was trying to use the state’s education reform dollars for property tax relief.
“(The state is) looking for us to use that money to improve and extend what we’re doing,” Tracy said. “Unfortunately Mayor (Anthony) Staffieri tried to use that grant as a club in order to drive down the school budget.”
Click play on the video above to hear Tracy talk about the grants during a Derby tax board meeting last week.
On Wednesday, the Derby tax board approved a $15.8 million school budget that represents a 2 percent increase over spending in the district.
It’s not as much as Tracy had hoped for — Derby schools had requested a 4 percent increase.
And while the budget is better than a zero increase, Tracy said it will still likely mean cuts. The Derby Board of Education is meeting next week to discuss what those cuts will be.
No Saving 24 Jobs
The Ansonia Board of Education also received a 2 percent increase with its $27 million budget approved by Aldermen last month. But that’s about $800,000 less than the district said it needed.
The underlying problem: About $2.2 million in various grants are going away in 2012 – 2013.
The district said it will have to eliminate 24 jobs as a result.
Those jobs won’t be saved by Alliance District money, according to Assistant Superintendent Anthony Gasper.
“It’s important for readers to know, it’s not at all like ECS (Education Cost Sharing Grants). ECS you have local control of how you’re spending it,” Gasper said. “(The Alliance School District money) is a grant, and you have to spend it in a certain way.”
Apprehension
Without clear guidelines from the state, it remains unknown how, exactly, the school districts will be able to use the money.
The grants need to be used for specific programs or initiatives to improve student achievement, according to state documents on the program.
“Districts must include specific, multi-year objectives and performance targets in their plans,” according to a state Department of Education letter distributed to Alliance Districts on May 25.
Ansonia hopes to use its grant toward early education literacy programs, Gasper said.
Until the district gets more details from the state Department of Education, no specific programs have been outlined under that general umbrella, Gasper said.
“We really need to see better specifics from the state on that,” Gasper said. “Are they going to permit the hiring of people? Are they going to permit the purchase of technology?”
Derby has not yet talked about its Alliance District grant application because of the chaos of budget season. This year’s budget season is Derby was marred by the lack of a finance director and political in-fighting.
“I didn’t think there was any point to getting started until they told us what we can apply for,” Tracy said.
Alliance District Details
Anticipated grant:
Ansonia: $539,715
Derby: $280,538
Application Details
The state Board of Education will meet on June 6 to outline the criteria for the grant application. The state Department of Education expects to hold an information session for the 30 districts on June 11.
The grants should be filed to the state by August 15.
General Criteria
While the specifics haven’t been worked out yet, the general criteria for the grants is that the money go toward a reform program, such as one of the following:
- Ways to strengthen reading programs for students in primary grades
- Additional learning time, including extended school day or year programs
- A talent strategy that includes teacher and school leader recruitment, retention and promotion
- Training for school leaders and other staff on new teacher evaluation models
- Aligning early childhood education programs with kindergarten
- Wrap-around services such as those in community school models
- Any additional goals, such as long-term school redesign
The latest information from the state Department of Education can be found in the following document.
