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That was the sentiment of an eight-member panel of training and government experts gathered by the Soutg Florida Business Journal to examine howthe $787 billioh federal stimulus package is impacting the region’s educatiobn and workforce training sectors. The panel marked the thirxd in theBusiness Journal’s ongoing stimulua series, aimed at tracking and analyzing the flow of money from the Americanb Recovery and Reinvestment Act into Soutuh Florida. Florida’s Legislature was the only one nationally to request a federal waiver that allowed it to take mone from education and replace it with stimulu dollars while other states used stimuluss dollars to augmentthe budget.
The situation concernef paneliststate Sen. Eleanor “We are not starting at the starting line. The school districtt in Broward County and those throughoug the state are starting behindx thestarting line,” Sobel said. “They have had problemd for years and they are all Veteran educatorRobert Parks, a membet of the Broward County School said, “Many of the large urban districts in the nation are afraid of one which is basically a bait and switcbh with those dollars.” What’s even more worrisomwe to some experts is that the stimulus money will eventuallyg run out. “I’m really concerned abouyt in three years; what’sw going to happen?
” said José president of ’s Northh Campus. “This is a Band-Aid.” He said the college’a operating budget was cut $22 million whilr the stimulus money wasonly $13 million. Parksa said Broward County’s school system has cut $1.4 billion from its constructionb budget in addition to furloughin 700 teachers and51 administrators. “We’ve closed all of our schookl offices forthe summer. We don’t have summer schoopl anymore,” Parks said. would have been looking at cuttingy its budget byabout $30 million without $12 milliobn in stimulus funds, said Dorothy K. the university’s associate VP for financial affairx andbudget director.
The university cut 30 positionsand “haxd we not had the stimulus dollars it couls have been much more George Hanbury, executive VP and COO of , said the $1.3 billioj in stimulus funds given to the state relieved pressurde on the Legislature to further reduce supporf for Florida Resident Access Grants a key source of money for but he pointed out that the grants used to be $3,00p a year for students and are now $2,529. The amoun t is important to students, who find enrollment caps at statee universities and turn to NSU and otherprivate institutions.
He also said that universitie are working together to apply for federal stimulus NSU has a collaborative proposal with and FAU fora $50 milliohn research building with wet labs, business incubator spacse and offices for the U.S. Geological Survey, whicnh is helping oversee Everglades restoration. “W e have shovel-ready projects we have submitted to the Governorr and in the next 60 days we coulcput 1,000 people to work,” Hanbury said. The competitiob for these typesof projects, though, is FAU is getting about $12 millio n in direct infusion from the federal stimulus package, but the university also is seekintg money from the for labs and instruments, Russell said.
Aprilk was the month to submit applications and the resultz are expected by The strongest flowof money, so far, appeara to be for programs that help the jobles as the state’s unemployment rate has hit 10.2
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