School Officials To Wait on Spending Federal Job Funds

Millburn's piece of the federal jobs bill funding is about $99,000, but local officials do not intend to use the funding until the 2011-12 budget is determined.

New Jersey as a whole received $268 million in funding under the bill from the federal government. The Education Jobs Fund program is a new Federal program that provides $10 billion in assistance to  states to save or create education jobs for the 2010-2011 school year, but the funding can be used in 2011-12..  There is a September 2012 deadline for school districts to use their funding.

Schools Supt. James Crisfield said the main focus of the funding is on those working in classrooms, specifically teachers. Funding can be used on other jobs like special education aides, but the main focus is classroom teachers, he said.

But Millburn officials intend to wait and see what to do with the funding, he said. The 2011-12 budget needs to "shake out" before it can be determined how the funding should be used.

"It would be a mistake to use it this year and then not have the money committed in the future for (the program or position)," he said. "We're allowed to save it until next year."

One of the things the money could be used for is to add teachers when class sizes get too large, which Crisfield said is what happened at South Mountain Elementary School in the fifth grade. The class size reached 28 students over the summer.

But school officials were able to add another fifth grade section at South Mountain. Crisfield said it was an unexpected development, but they were able to find the funding in the budget to add the teacher. The money was available because of the number of teachers and others who retired last spring, he said.