Half of stimulus money for schools goes to state
Emergency funds for teachers' jobs
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A special New Hampshire legislative committee voted yesterday to divide between schools and the state $41 million in emergency federal funding intended to protect teachers' jobs.
The joint legislative Fiscal Committee voted to give local schools half the money and use the rest for other state spending. Republicans tried unsuccessfully to keep all of the money for the state.
State Rep. Neal Kurk, a Republican from Weare, argued that the state has fully met its school aid commitment and needs the money to fill looming budget shortfalls.
"The decision leaves the state in a very significant budget hole," he said after losing his appeal to keep the money.
Senate President Sylvia Larsen, a Democrat from Concord, countered that the money will help local schools and the property taxpayers who help pay their bills.
The total school aid distribution for this fiscal year will rise to $978 million from $957 million.
Federal education officials estimated the $41 million would save 700 teachers' jobs in New Hampshire, but a survey by school administrators last summer determined roughly 200 jobs had been cut going into the school year.
Christopher Clement, director of the state's Office of Economic Stimulus, said in a report to the committee that the state increased school aid by more than $100 million in the current two-year-budget, which fully funded its aid commitment.
He said the federal law requires schools to use the funds for pay and benefits and other expenses needed to retain existing employees, to recall or rehire former employees and to hire new employees. Schools that have excess funds at the end of this school year can use the money to hire new teachers through the end of September 2011, he said.
The state's tactic is not new. The state - with Gov. John Lynch's support - substituted federal education stimulus funds for state-funded school aid in the current budget. State tax money was freed up from being spent on school aid and used instead for other spending, including state aid to communities.
The federal law calls for the money to be distributed either to schools under the Title I formula - which target schools with high concentrations of low-income students - or through the state's aid formula. Not all schools receive Title I money.
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According to:
Janet Clayman, Legislative Assistant, House Finance Committee, Room 211-A
Legislative Office Building, North State Street, Concord, NH 03301, (603)271-3165
"The Fiscal Committee vote on the Education Jobs Funding was as follows:
6-4
Reps. Smith, Nordgren, Foose and Sens. D'Allesandro, Larson and Sgambati, in favor.
Reps. Kurk, Scamman and Sens. Gallus and Bragdon, against."
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Just what planet are your comments valid. I have read many post here but this is right up there with some of the most blatantly false. It does depend on the type of spoon you were born with in your mouth. A silver spoon trumps the plastic one out of 10 times. Economics are the key to success. When you grow up without the basics and constantly moving because of evictions it is quite difficult to get a decent education when your home-life is in turmoil. Not impossible but not the norm either. Without the family money and political connections GWB probably couldn't have kept a job pumping gas and who ever would have heard of Paris Hilton or any of her ilk. Unfortunately our society today is based on wealth and material accumulation above all else. It may not buy happiness but it certainly opens doors. Contrary to your basic premise, if my plate were already full, I would insist that I don't need my share and it should go to those with empty plates. I think this a "core value" and being a good Christian, the haves help the have nots. People who just blindly insist on getting their share, without need, are the root of the decay in our society today.
As far as the republican moves to share this money, obviously we are getting a glimpse of just how we cut government spending - steal it from the children first. Didn't take long for the true colors to be shown.
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...politicians who are "loony tunes". The mined-benders to their way of thinking that is a lie.
gcarson : I agree with you 100%, re: "People who just blindly insist on getting their share, without need, are the root of the decay in our society today."
That's all those parents of children who live above the poverty line and can send their child to a private school, but insist on sending them to a government school because those living below the poverty line also pay for them who live above.
The solution of to deal with vouchers? No! The Constitution is already written of for the government to operate in a "frugal" manner of what is needed, not wanted by everyone from everybody else. Thus to help the poor, not those who are not poor. Simple, right? So WHY do we have the current unconstitutional system?!
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.......................just cutting state spending. And thank GOD Sylvia Larsen will have no influence in the new legislature.........that money will not help to cut property taxes, it will be going into public employee paychecks and as the news piece mentions......to rehire people who have been laid off. I assume that if you were cut and laid off that your job was not necessary in the first place.
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. . . and do you know what happens when assumptions are wrong? The most significant assumption of yours is that the folks who where laid-off were not needed, well that could be very incorrect!! I say this because I did not see one employee of the political appointee ranks laid-off (who are the most significant waste in state government)! Besides, if some of that $41,000,000 actually goes to education, as directed by the federal government, then those receiving it can pay their local property taxes or a mortgage, etc.
Getting back our federal tax dollars is advantageous. It is especially advantageous when the money is then pumped back into the local economy via the payment of the tax obligations that each of us have to our local, county, and state governments. If I were one who received part of that money (which I am not), then I could pay my local taxes and not waste it on the greedy, over priced, private sector companies.
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......due to needing those laid-off workers, it is not obvious. A poster here used to work in IT there and they complained that now his co-worker has to do both jobs.................good, that is how it is done in the private sector.
None of that money will ever find its way into a situation where property taxes are lowered......you are naive if you think so. It will be spent on new initiatives and salaries.
Federal tax dollars? They take our money and give us a fraction of it back as if they are doing us a favor.
Glad you found a way to work "greedy" into yet another posting and link it with "private sector". And overpriced, have you seen the state wages lately./..........let me know if you want me to post the lists.
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in other posts that every one of those stimulus dollars is borrowed money.
So, what part of that is "our federal tax dollars"?
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. . . is ultimately the same -- it all must come from the taxpayer from each and every state. Besides, who has their finger on the combination lock to allow and account for all expenditures and revenue. There is virtually no way of determining if my income tax dollars is actually returned to NH or if someone from say Kansas sent us some money. But a tabulation of all income in NH and a tax rate applied would certainly provide an estimate of how much was sent to Washington. My point is who knows if the $41,000,000 or some part of it is actually stimulus or tax dollars. Then again, who really cares and why should we. If NH does not accept the money, then some other state will take it.
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I think that it is the overall problem. If the government can't account for stimulus money or any money the answer should not be "who knows". There should be a way to determine where the money is coming from and that is called accounting.
Down at Club Fed they take a lot of money from everyone and redistribute it as they see fit. I guess you are saying: "we will take whatever we can get". Hence, we enable the government to go on a spending spree of wasteful programs like Safe Routes to School, etc.
If there is no accountability, how do we know what is being squandered? But using your premise...."who knows? who cares?"
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How about sending the money back to Washington to pay down the debt?
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. . . considering how governments work, that money would simply be distributed to someone else. The only president of recent time who paid down the national debt was Jimmy Carter. Ronald Reagon and G.W.Bush added a gross amount of debt - as republicans usually do.
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Jimmy Carter??? thats a good one!
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"The federal law calls for the money to be distributed either to schools under the Title I formula - which target schools with high concentrations of low-income students." This is yet another example of forced redistribution of income from those with some to those who have less. It's just not right. We all have the same opportunities in this country from the get go - that is to live our lives as we choose, to make our own decisions and to take responsibility for our actions. Whether you start life with nothing or have everything, people can and do end up on equal footing. Many poor folks have gone on in life to be VERY successful and they didn't need the Government to be robbing Peter to pay Paul to do it. A year or so ago I read a story about how Federal and State aid was being distributed to something like 1500 low-income renters and home-owners in NH to weatherize their homes. I guess the idea was that it would lower the amount of aid provided for heating. I mean what the heck gives here? I firmly believe that money distributed in this manner is simply not right, that any State or Federal aid that is spent on any one citizen must be made equally available to ALL taxpayers, and not to any one specific group or demographic.
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NHJonesy: You; and Kurk of this 12 -member Joint Fiscal Committee* are right. RSA 14:30-a
Re: "I firmly believe that money distributed in this manner is simply not right, that any State or Federal aid that is spent on any one citizen must be made equally available to ALL taxpayers, and not to any one specific group or demographic."
It's spelled out in the N.H. Constitution, Part First & Bill of Rights, and in particular, Article 10: "Government being instituted for the common benefit, protection, and security, of the whole community, and not for the private interest or emolument of any one man, family, or class of men...." http://www.nh.gov/constitution/billofrights.html
JSH
P.S. Speaking of Federal money, check out what we, the tax-payers, pay the "poor" = $200/month for food to live on http://www.workworld.org/wwwebhelp/food_stamp_benefit_levels.htm but on a "rich" diet since according to: http://www.mymoneyblog.com/what-does-200-calories-cost-the-economics-of-... " If the average human needs to consume about 2,000 calories, that’s just $2 a day. " So to cut expenses WHERE? everybody keeps asking: In THIS department. $200/mo. x 12 = $2400 minus (365 x $2.00=) $730 = almost $1,700 MORE than enough.
* http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/statstudcomm/details.aspx?id=990&rbl=1&c... from: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/statstudcomm/ type in the Key Word: fiscal, from: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/ "General Court News and Hot Links" with: Search Statutory/Study Committees is HOW I found it. A call to 271-3165 for the Minutes.
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Your supposition that we are all born with equal opportunity couldn't be further from the truth. If you bothered to find out some facts you would find out just how many people are doomed from the start.
Call your local SAU and find out how many students are receiving special education services. Don't bother, because the answer is between 16 and 18%. Now, not all of these kids are in dire shape, but I can tell you that many of them will have difficulty finding sustainable work. Around half of them will need some sort of assistance for life. About 5% will never be able to support themselves completely.
Try stopping by a place like the Crotched Mountain School in Greenfield and tell me about the opportunities that lie ahead for these students. Or one of the many other schools where outside the mainstream kids are kept.
Once you've done that come back here and tell me we are all created equal.
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