Hopatcong Schools Receive $427,058 in Federal Funds, Superintendent Says Money Could Help Rehire Teachers

Hopatcong's school district received a much-needed boost Monday when the state's Department of Education said the borough would receive $427,058 of the $268 million New Jersey got as part of the Education Jobs Fund, a bill Congress passed last month.

Or did it?

That was Superintendent Dr. Charles Maranzano's reaction to the news after Monday's Board of Education work session at the administration building.

Maranzano said the money would probably help in the short-term, but added he hadn't gone over "all the fine print" necessary to decide how the district could use the funds.

"There are strings attached to everything," he said.

Maranzano said there's a possibility the district would consider rehiring teachers laid off over the summer due to budget cuts.

"Any superintendent that is burdened with large class sizes will probably look to the classes and say, "Gee, at the second-grade level or the third-grade level we've got 25 kids per class. Let's reduce that as much as we can,'" he said.

"That's what the strategy probably will be: to take a look at how we can provide some relief for large class sizes."

Districts have until September 2012 to use the money, according to the Department of Education. Maranzano said that's why he might not rush to spend the one-time funding immediately.

"Who wouldn't be happy about this? I'm not unhappy about this. But now we've got to figure it out," he said.

Hopatcong lost $1.7 million in state aid last May due to Gov. Chris Christie's budget cuts, causing layoffs and program elimination. New Jersey slashed about $820 million in state aid.

The state's Acting Commissioner of Education Rochelle R. Hendricks issued a warning in a letter to schools.

"I encourage your district to avoid spending decisions that would significantly grow future-year obligations that could prove to be unsustainable," she wrote. "In other words, these one-time funds should not only preserve critical jobs, they should provide your district with the breathing room needed to plan for educationally sound, balanced budgets in the austere days to come. It is unwise to assume that there will be additional streams of federal jobs money in planning for the future."

Hopatcong will receive the second-most money out of Sussex County's 25 districts behind Vernon, which will get $924,931, according to the Department of Education.