Valley Stream schools get $1.8M

Valley Stream’s four school districts are in for some extra money, thanks to a new $10 billion federal education jobs bill.

The total for Valley Stream is about $1.8 million, with more than half of that earmarked for the Central High School District. Even with the federal boost, however, the districts will still receive less state aid this year than last, with Gov. David Paterson proposing an additional 1 percent cut.

So far, only one of the four districts has a specific plans for the money. District 24 will restore a Spanish program that was scaled back last year. The district traditionally has offered the foreign language instruction in the third through sixth grades, a program dating back to when Robert Carbonaro was superintendent in the 1960s.

Last year the program was cut back to just the fifth and sixth grades to keep the budget increase down. Superintendent Dr. Edward Fale said he learned only on the afternoon of the Aug. 25 Board of Education meeting about the extra $219,000 the district was slated to receive. He proposed restoring the Spanish program in the third and fourth grades to board members that night.

“The Board of Education is very happy to be able to reinstate the Spanish program,” board President Ian Wraith said. “The federal stimulus money that is allowing us this opportunity must be used to reinstate canceled programs or rehire excessed staff. So our Spanish program is a perfect fit for this stimulus grant.”

Fale said that a former Spanish teacher in the district was set to teach first grade at the William L. Buck School this year. Instead, she will return to teaching Spanish and the district will hire a regular classroom teacher. Third- and fourth-graders should get about 40 minutes to an hour each week of Spanish instruction, Fale said.

Restoring the Spanish program, he said, is something he wanted to do when the 2010-11 school budget was in the planning stages, but it was not economically feasible then. He noted that the program is a model for other elementary schools. “We often have visitors from other school districts who are interested in developing an elementary foreign language program,” Fale said.

High School District Superintendent Dr. Marc Bernstein said that he would like to use the additional $1 million in federal money to reduce class sizes. He said that in the wake of state aid cuts, some teaching positions were cut for this year, raising class sizes from an average of 25 to 28.

Bernstein said he is still waiting for clarification from the state on how the funding can be used before making any recommendations to the board. Also, he explained, with students having already received their class schedules for the year, it would be difficult to make any changes at this point. He said that the administrators are reviewing all possibilities, and no option is being dismissed.

District 13 Board of Education President Frank Chiachiere said his hope for the $350,000 the district will receive is to bring back the before- and after-school English Language Arts and math academies that were cut this year. These programs support students who need extra help in passing the state tests. Chiachiere said that because test scores are down this year after the state raised the passing marks, more students now need this support. “It would be a good use of those funds, in my view,” he said.

Assistant Superintendent for Business Meredith Brosnan said that many districts are considering using the money next year, since it can be spent over two years. She noted that other federal stimulus money ends this year, so the new funds can replace that to help retain teachers.

District 30 is getting about $225,000 from the bill. Superintendent Dr. Elaine Kanas said it is likely that the money will be used to maintain teaching positions next year. The district did not lose any positions this year, and even added an extra classroom teacher to reduce class sizes, Kanas explained.

Bernstein said that because of the slow economic recovery and the likelihood of no additional state aid next year, it will be good to have at least some of the additional money available for 2011-12.

New York state, which received $600 million through the bill, is also in line for $700 million in federal Race to the Top funds. Local school districts have not yet received a breakdown of that funding.