Two Ansonia schools will get new refrigerators before school starts this fall, with federal stimulus money promised from the state Department of Education.
Ansonia Middle School and John C. Mead School were promised $5,450 grants each to purchase two separate two-door roll-in fridges, according to a statement released by Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s office Tuesday. Ansonia High School was awarded $10,700 for a truck lift gate.
The money trickled down from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National School Lunch Program. The USDA gave Connecticut $800,000, and then the state Department of Education distributed that money to districts that applied for the grants for lunch and kitchen equipment.
Donna Tommelleo, a spokeswoman for Rell, said priority was given to districts where more than half of the students qualify for free and reduced lunch. In Ansonia, 47.9 percent of the students qualify for free or reduced lunch.
“These are the types of purchases that, while important, are often deferred for years, even decades because there is always another more immediate priority for building repair and maintenance or for other equipment,” Rell said in the statement. “With these funds, schools can finally purchase needed equipment for their cafeteria program without added burden to local taxpayers.”
Much of the federal stimulus money is designated for specific projects and can’t be used to supplement local budgets. That’s why funds may trickle down to buy new refrigerators in a year when many towns are cutting services and school districts are facing lay offs.
Calls to officials at the Ansonia Board of Education were not returned Tuesday afternoon.
