Title I funds tougher for schools to get

MAT-SU -- The Mat-Su Borough School District administration has decided to increase the number of requirements schools must meet in order to qualify for Title 1 federal funds, in an effort to better use that money for schools with a large percentage of students from low-income households.

As a result, schools will find it more difficult to acquire funds to help offset increased costs associated with educating students from impoverished homes, where additional challenges often hinder a child's academic progress.

Currently, each school determines its number of at-risk students by counting how many students qualify for free or reduced-price school lunches, a program that provides lunches for low income families. Last year, schools with 35 percent of their students in the free or reduced-price lunch program qualified for Title 1 funds.

Under federal guidelines, schools with fewer than 35 percent of their students in the free or reduced-price lunch program cannot receive Title 1 funds. Federal guidelines give school districts discretion, however to require schools to show that as many as 75 percent of their students are on free and reduced-price lunches before they qualify for Title 1 funds. Last year more than 4,000 Mat-Su Borough students, one-third of the entire student population, received free and reduced price lunches. That number has remained fairly stable over the last few years, according to school district officials.

In recent years, the Mat-Su Borough School District has made it much easier for schools to qualify for Title 1 funds than they have to but things are starting to change.

Beginning this year, schools must have at least 40 percent of their students on free and reduced lunch programs in order to qualify as a newly classified Title 1 school. Next year the number climbs to 45 percent and by 2006 schools must have 50 percent of their students eligible for free or reduced-price lunches in order to qualify for Title 1 funds.

As the percentages increase, some Valley schools may no longer qualify for Title 1 funds.

Schools that were at 35 percent last year, however, will be grandfathered in for this year only, allowing them time to adjust to the stricter requirements.

The Title 1 program is a product of former President Lyndon B. Johnson's famous "war on poverty." The program, which originated in the 1960s, tries to direct additional resources, tutors, small-group instruction and classroom aides to those schools that have high percentages of students from low-income families.

Laurine Domke, director of federal programs for the Mat-Su Borough School District, said the Title 1 program was founded on the belief that large percentages of impoverished students create a culture of poverty, thereby making learning more difficult for all students in the classroom, whether they are from higher-income families or not.

Schools like Palmer Junior Middle School may have a greater overall number of kids on free and reduced-price lunches than smaller schools like Trapper Creek Elementary. But the percentage of students on the lunch programs at Palmer Junior Middle is less than the 40-percent requirement, meaning Palmer Junior Middle will lose Title 1 funds next school year unless its percentages increase.

Smaller schools like Trapper Creek Elementary may have fewer students on free and reduced-price lunches but its overall percentage of those students is higher and it will likely receive Title 1 funds even though it has fewer students in the programs.

According to Domke, federal regulations require that the school district distribute Title 1 funds based on percentages of at-risk students, not overall numbers.

"Less students will be served," Domke said, "but we have to rank order by percentage, not by numbers, if we want to use the money."

Schools most likely to lose Title 1 funding next year are Sherrod and Swanson elementary schools and Palmer Junior Middle School, all three of which were grandfathered for this year only.

Domke said the tighter requirements for Title 1 eligibility this year are due to the fact that the school district has increased financial obligations because of mandates from the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

Nationwide Adequate Yearly Progress tests began two years ago, meaning this year is the first time schools could have failed to make progress for two years in a row.

According to federal law, roughly a third of Title 1 funds must be used to make corrections to those schools that did not make AYP for two consecutive years. These corrections include involving parents in student education, equipping teachers and staff to become highly qualified and transporting students from schools that did not make AYP to schools that did.

According to Domke, these added costs could represent an increased educational cost of between $550,000 to $800,000 for the Mat-Su Borough School District this year.

"Last year we were OK and there was no deficit," Domke said. With many schools now requiring the extra programs, however, Domke said the school district is struggling to find funding sources for Title 1 programs. The federal government increased the district's Title 1 funding by $250,000 but that still does not cover the projected increased costs.

In order to pay for this year's increases, Domke said the district will transfer funds out of a Title 2 program that were going to be used to reduce elementary class sizes. That money will instead be used to help pay for the added Title 1 costs. Domke said the result will probably mean larger classes in elementary schools.

Contact Joel Davidson at joel.davidson@frontiersman.com.