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TWO CT. TOWNS REJECT
FEDERAL SCHOOL FUNDS
>
Hartford Courant -- September 26, 2003
>
by Robert Frahm
>
> Although President Bush's school reform law offers
money to help needy
> public schools meet tough new academic standards, at
least two
> Connecticut towns have just said no.
>
> Cheshire and Somers, along with a handful of schools in
Vermont, are
> believed to be among the first places in the nation to
turn down grants
> from the U.S. Department of Education's Title I program.
>
> By rejecting the federal anti-poverty grants, the
school systems not
> only avoid some regulations and paperwork, but also
become exempt from
> possible future sanctions under the No Child Left
Behind Act.
>
> Although schools in Connecticut's lean economy are not
accustomed to
> turning down money, Cheshire's decision not to take
nearly $80,000 in
> Title I money and Somers' rejection of about $45,000
are rooted, in
> part, in skepticism about the federal education reforms.
>
> Both Cheshire and Somers are relatively affluent towns
but became
> eligible for Title I this year after census figures
revealed pockets of
> poverty.
>
> "All the bureaucratic nonsense associated with No Child
Left Behind ...
> really doesn't fit a community like Cheshire," said
David A. Cressy, the
> town's school superintendent. "It just, to me, didn't
make sense."
>
> In Somers, School Superintendent Thomas W. Jefferson
said his town
> learned of its eligibility for the money long after the
school budget
> had been finalized and decided not to add programs
hastily.
>
> "To say Title I comes with strings attached is an
understatement,"
> Jefferson said. "It comes with ropes and anchors
attached."
>
> The No Child Left Behind Act, signed by Bush last year,
expands testing
> programs and imposes corrective sanctions on schools
receiving Title I
> funds whose students fail to meet state standards in
reading and
> mathematics. It also provides additional Title I money
to schools
> educating low-income children.
>
> The law's sanctions grow progressively more demanding
each year a school
> fails to meet standards but apply only to schools that
receive Title I
> money. Those that fail to make adequate progress two
years in a row are
> required to allow students to transfer to other local
schools. In later
> years, those schools can be required to pay for
individual tutoring,
> replace teachers, change curriculum or even turn over
control to state
> government.
>
> Soon after the No Child Left Behind Act took effect,
officials in some
> states, including Vermont, weighed the possibility of
rejecting their
> entire allotments of Title I money, but no state
followed through on the
> idea.
>
> In Vermont, however, a few local schools did forgo
small grants. The
> first was Hazen Union School in Hardwick, which turned
down about
> $10,000 to avoid penalties for failing to make enough
improvement in
> reading and math scores.
>
> "What we didn't want to do is have the penalty phase
kick in any sooner
> than we need to. [The law] has a punitive overtone to
it," said David
> Bickford, assistant superintendent for the Orleans
Southwest Supervisory
> Union, which oversees Hazen Union.
>
> A government spokesman said the U.S. Department of
Education has no data
> on whether local schools or districts have taken
similar action, but
> several education analysts said they believe few places
in the nation
> have actually turned down the money.
>
> "It's the first time I've seen schools do this.
Normally you take every
> penny you can get," said Patty Sullivan of the Council
of Chief State
> School Officers in Washington, D.C.
>
> In Connecticut, schools that do not receive money under
Title I still
> are subject to the testing and accountability
provisions of No Child
> Left Behind, and could be required to take corrective
action by the
> state. However, those schools would be exempt from the
federal
> sanctions, according to the state Department of
Education.
>
> In addition, those schools would be able to avoid
requirements such as
> sending No Child Left Behind reports to all parents,
state officials said.
>
> Title I provides extra reading and mathematics
instruction to children
> in low-income schools and is the federal government's
biggest aid
> program for elementary and secondary schools. About 85
percent of
> Connecticut's public school districts receive Title I
money.
>
> Neither Cheshire nor Somers had any schools this year
on the state's
> list of schools that have not made adequate progress
toward the No Child
> Left Behind standards, but the law is scheduled to make
the standards
> progressively more difficult. Cressy said he is opposed
to the law's use
> of sanctions, "as if punishing schools in this way is
going to make them
> better."
>
> At least one other Connecticut school system,
Marlborough, also is
> considering whether to reject its small Title I grant.
It became
> eligible this year for about $8,400.
>
> "With amounts that small, the cost for administering it
could exceed the
> amount of the grant," said Joseph Reardon,
superintendent in
> Marlborough, which has just one elementary school.
>
> Any funds rejected by local schools are returned to the
state for
> redistribution to other Connecticut schools, state
officials said.
>
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