With The Exception Of Stimulus Funds, Holbrook Schools’ Grants Are Dwindling

By Tammy Gray-Searles
   A number of grants to help purchase supplies and pay salaries were approved by the Holbrook School District Governing Board Nov. 10, but Federal Projects Director Dr. Pam Sparrow explained that the grant amounts are reduced from previous years and expected to continue to decline in coming years.
   “The early childhood (grant) was cut $8,700 this year,” she explained. “In the gifted program we do have some carryover, but we've already been asked to anticipate a 15 percent reduction in that grant, and that’s on top of a $1,000 cut from last year.”
   The district expects to receive $38,108 in early childhood development grant funding, most of which will be used to pay for a kindergarten teacher’s salary and benefits. Approximately $3,500 of the grant will be used to purchase school supplies.
   A total of $4,797 is expected in gifted program grant funds. Of that amount, $1,547 will be used to purchase instructional supplies, $200 for academic competition registration fees, $800 for teacher professional development, $1,500 for testing materials and $750 to purchase a quiz bowl system.
   The largest anticipated grants are American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds, which Sparrow noted are one-time only grants.
   “This year the Holbrook School District received ARRA stimulus funding for Title I,” Sparrow noted. “These funds are a one-time disbursement, therefore our district is applying these funds to long-term sustainable projects that will not require additional funding for sustainability in the future. The Arizona Department of Education has approved this grant.”
   Included in the ARRA grant is $175,101 for instructional supplies such as reading and math software for students in kindergarten through sixth grade, science and other hands-on project supplies, classroom books, supplies to be handed out to homeless students and a special reading program for young students with reading difficulties. The grant will also pay $84,000 in teacher stipends for training and special projects, $138,900 for additional professional development, $33,500 for supplies for special programs such as domestic violence and bullying prevention, $144,485 for computers and other educational electronics such as Smartboards and reading stations, and approximately $90,000 for desks, software and computers for the Triumph School.
   In other action Nov. 10, the board:
   * Approved the purchase of Mind Play’s My Reading Coach and RAPS 360 for kindergarten through sixth grade.
   * Set open enrollment capacity for special education programs.
   * Approved the 2009-10 performance-based compensation plan.
   * Approved revised pay rates for game officials.
   * Approved the scope and sequence of the 2009-10 gifted program.
   The next regular school board meeting time and date has been changed to accommodate holiday performances at the schools. The board will meet at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 8. A work session on the 2010-11 budget will precede the regular meeting at 4 p.m.