New federal program to aid rural schools

The state’s smallest school districts will be able to make better use of some federal education funds thanks to a new program created by Sen. Susan Collins.

Part of the landmark education reform legislation approved by Congress earlier last week, the Rural Education Achievement Program offers rural schools more flexibility by allowing them to combine funds from four grant programs to address their particular needs. They also will get some extra money so the amounts they receive will range between $20,000 and $60,000.

The four programs are the Safe and Drug Free Schools Program, Technology Block Program, Teacher Quality Program, and Innovative Strategies Block Grant Program.

Typically, many rural school systems get only small amounts of money from each of the programs, too little actually to mount an effort in the specific area intended without going to local voters for more money. This approach will allow them to address their priorities, whether it’s to hire a reading specialist, upgrade a science lab or purchase new computers for the library.

The new initiative will benefit the state’s 109 school systems that have fewer than 600 students.

The Appropriations Committee on Thursday approved $162.5 million to fund REAP. Under the program, rural schools will receive between $20,000 and $60,000 depending on enrollment.

Since federal formula grants, which are automatically awarded to eligible schools, are based on enrollment, smaller districts often haven’t received enough funding to implement any real changes.

One Maine district received a whopping $28 to fund a districtwide Safe and Drug-free School Program, Collins told Congress recently.

The schools have been prohibited from applying the funds to any other program.

Speaking to her colleagues, Collins used as an example SAD 33, the Frenchville and St. Agatha school system, which serves 346 students.

The district receives four separate formula grants ranging from $1,705 to $10,045, for a total of about $16,000, Collins said.

“The grants are so small they are not really useful in accomplishing the goals of the program … yet each requires separate reporting and compliance standards, and each is used for different federally mandated purposes,” she said.

With the new legislation the paperwork would be reduced, according to a spokesperson from Collins’ Washington office.

For example, Jerry White, former SAD 33 superintendent, once needed to submit eight separate reports for four programs to receive the $16,000, but under the new legislation only one form will be required at the end of the year.

That extra money will enable schools in the Frenchville area to receive $34,000 in addition to the $16,000 already provided, Collins said.

In return, participating districts will be held accountable for demonstrating improved student performance over a three-year period.

White didn’t see that as a problem.

“Give me the resources I need plus the flexibility to use them, and I am happy to be held accountable for improved student performance,” he said.