by Andy Sevilla
This week, the Hays Free Press brings you the second in a series on the impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in Hays County. Last week, we took a look at the flow of funds to corridor cities in the county; e.g., Buda, Kyle and San Marcos. Overall, Hays took in more than $78 million.
Below, we bring you up to date on the monies provided to local school districts.
As school officials in Hays County talked tough on budget cuts, the federal government funneled in $41,874,145 for education projects through the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the latest federal figures show.
Of the four school districts in Hays County – Hays Consolidated Independent School District, San Marcos CISD, Dripping Springs ISD and Wimberley ISD – Hays CISD received the largest chunk of the federal funds, as of May, according to the Recovery Act website.
Hays CISD has taken in six federal grants totaling $12,871,958.
Hays CISD was awarded three grants in the fourth-quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2011, for a total $8,456,988. The school district received two State Fiscal Stabilization Fund grants (SFSF) – $4,210,094 and $4,177,344. The SFSF grants are intended “to stabilize local budgets in order to minimize and avoid reductions in education and other essential services, and in exchange for Texas’ commitment to advance essential education reform in four areas” making improvements in teacher effectiveness and the equitable distribution of qualified teachers for all students; establishing pre-K-to-college-and-career data systems that track progress and foster continuous improvement; making progress toward rigorous college-and-career-ready standards and high quality assessments; and providing targeted, intensive support and effective interventions for the lowest-performing schools, the federal website states.
The third grant awarded to Hays CISD in FY2011 was a $69,550 preschool grant for children with disabilities.
In the first-quarter of FY2012, Hays CISD received two grants, totaling $3,274,985 – a $2,675,301 grant for the education of children with disabilities and a $599,684 Title I, Part A grant aimed at helping schools with high concentrations of students from low-income families to provide high-quality education that will enable all children to meet the Texas student performance standards.
Lastly, Hays CISD received a $1,139,985 School Improvement Grant (SIG) in the first-quarter of FY2013. This grant, authorized under section 1003(g) of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, is intended for use in Title I schools identified for improvement, corrective action or restructuring that demonstrate the greatest need for the funds and the strongest commitment to use the funds to provide adequate resources in order to raise substantially the achievement of their students, thus enabling schools to make adequate yearly progress and exit improvement status.
San Marcos CISD has received seven grants from federal stimulus monies totaling $6,810,690, as of May, the Recovery Act website shows.
In the fourth-quarter of FY2011, the San Marcos school district brought in three grants – a $2,114,444 SFSF grant, a second $1,995,935 SFSF grant and a $39,027 preschool grant for children with disabilities.
In the first-quarter of FY2012, the school district was awarded four grants – a $1,501,149 grant for the education of children with disabilities, a $1,084,106 grant to improve basic programs, and two technology grants of $42,102 and $33,909.
Dripping Springs ISD was awarded four federal grants totaling $3,196,937.
The school district’s first two grants were awarded in the fourth-quarter of FY2011 – SFSF grants of $1,192,252 and $1,160,226.
The district received its last two grants in the first-quarter of FY2012 – a $723,675 grant for the education of children with disabilities and a $120,784 grant to improve basic programs.
Wimberley ISD received the smallest allocation of federal money, taking in only four grants totaling $1,566,448.
The district received two SFSF grants in the fourth-quarter of FY2011 – $571,376 and $540,201. Meanwhile, in the first-quarter of FY2012, Wimberley ISD was awarded a $376,172 grant for the education of children with disabilities and a $78,699 grant to improve basic programs.
Texas State University in San Marcos, an institution of higher learning, was apportioned the highest dollar amount, taking in almost half of the allocation of federal education dollars in Hays County.
The university was awarded 14 grants totaling $17,428,112. Most recently, Texas State was awarded its largest federal stimulus grant – $5,421,205 – for professional university resources and education for health information technology, in the first-quarter of FY2013.
The school also took in five other grants in FY2013, totaling $6,489,168 for the whole first-quarter of FY2013.
Texas State’s most lucrative cumulative awards came in the third-quarter of FY2011, when the school was awarded four SFSF grants totaling $9,857,797.
In FY2010, the university received a $218,471 grant for federal work-study and a $31,184 grant earmarked for scholarships for “disadvantaged students.” The school was awarded over $800,000 in research grants in FY 2012 – a $649,723 grant for enhanced development of the Xiphophorus Model System, an experimental model using Xiphophorus fishes for fundamental biomedical research; and a $181,769 grant for STTR Phase II: Ultra-High Efficiency Biodiesel Manufacturing (research and development in the physical, engineering and life sciences).
Hays CISD FY 2011:
Two State Fiscal Stabilization Fund grants (SFSF) — $4,210,094 and $4,177,344
• improve teacher effectiveness
• ensure equitable distribution of qualified teachers for all students
• establish pre-k-to-college-and-career data systems that track progress toward rigorous college-and-career-ready standards and high quality assessments
• provide targeted, intensive support and effective interventions for the lowest-performing schools
A third grant for $69,550
• preschool grant for children with disabilities
Hays CISD FY 2012:
Two grants, totaling $3,274,985
$2,675,301 for the education of children with disabilities and $599,684 for a Title I, Part A grant
• help students from low-income families meet the Texas student performance standards
Hays CISD FY 2013:
$1,139,985 School Improvement Grant (SIG)
