Via Adam Roberts ~ Just months after the Milton Public Schools were forced to eliminate 17 non-teaching positions due to budget constants, an increase of $327,683 of funding from the federal Education Jobs Funds bill will allow the district to address staffing needs. Governor Deval Patrick announced the state would be receiving $204 million from the bill earlier this week. The bill allocates at least $25 per students to every school district. Patrick said the funds, which are designated for salary and benefits, will keep classroom sizes manageable across the Commonwealth and "take the edge off" for districts struggling with cuts. "This is the highest level of education funding in history, which means $327,000 more for Milton than they were expecting," Patrick said. The funds, which were distributed using the Commonwealth's Chapter 70 formula, will ensure that every district will meet foundation level funding for this year. "This is largely good news anytime you get stimulus money, even if it has restrictions," said Milton Public Schools Business Administrator Matt Gillis, referring to the fact the money must be used for salary and can't be used for supplies or services like other federal stimulus grants the district has received. The Department of Education and Secondary Education also informed school officials that the funding could be carried over into Fiscal Year 2012. The question of what to do with the new funds is now before the administration and School Committee, which has a meeting scheduled for September 8.
Comments(0)