School Officials Discuss Federal Money Situation

The Lynbrook Union Free School District is slated to receive a little over $400,000 in education funding from the federal government this school year, but with Albany still in a precarious financial situation, Lynbrook officials are being cautious with the projected income.
   
At a Sept. 15 school board meeting at Lynbrook High School, Superintendent Dr. Santo Barbarino explained that the district would be receiving approximately $381,000 through the federal Education Jobs Fund, which will provide $10 billion nationwide for school districts to offer educational services and/or create jobs. The estimation was given to Lynbrook by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-New York).
   
With the projected funding, the district was able to hire a 4th-grade teacher and create a class section at Marion Street Elementary School to help lower the 4th-grade class sizes. But other than that, the district has remained cautious about spending the money, as the state has not been clear about when school districts will receive it. The district is also slated to receive about $30,000 from the state through the federal Race to the Top program, but that funding also has no date of delivery attached to it.
   
"We are in the holding pattern right now," said Barbarino.
   
Last year, the district was forced to cut some elementary programs, which included a science club at West End Elementary School and a reading club at Marion Street Elementary School. But in anticipation of receiving money from the federal government, Barbarino has asked the elementary school principals to come up with a list of cut programs they would like to see restored. But no action is planned beyond that, district officials say.
   
"We're just exploring all of our options at this point so we have all our information in place," said Assistant Superintendent for Business Melissa Burak, adding that the district would have until September 2012 to use the money. "We're not going to obligate this money all in one year. We want to be prepared for the next two years."