Lynn teachers union head sees school funds

LYNN – President Barack Obama’s federal stimulus package could contain money earmarked specifically for the Lynn Public Schools’ fiscal year 2009 budget, but it remains unknown how much of that money could be used to save teacher jobs.The specifics of the proposed package are far from set, as the House and Senate continued to tear down and rebuild their versions of the plan over the weekend.The Senate appears set to vote on an $827 billion plan today, but even if passed they would have to reconcile their version with that of the House before anything reaches the president’s desk.Regardless of when the stimulus package becomes reality, it appears likely the Lynn Public Schools will receive at least a small amount of relief from the federal government.According to Teacher’s Union President Alice Gunning, who spent part of last week at a conference in Texas where the stimulus package was a topic of conversation, one version of the plan would have provided approximately $13 million for the department in fiscal ’09.Gunning said Monday she was provided numbers from a version of the package proposed last week by the House that would have brought in money for special education, Title 1 and school building projects.Although that specific package has since been cut by the Senate, Gunning says the initial plan to bring robust funding to Lynn offers hope the stimulus will ultimately improve a dire budget situation in the city.”There is a lot still going on with the stimulus package. Those numbers were from the House package that went to the Senate. They (the Senate) did cut it and it will go back to the House,” she said. “But even if they cut that funding in half, that’s still $7.5 million so there is some money coming.”In addition to fiscal year 2009 funds, the proposed stimulus package could also offer support in FY 2010 budget in similar areas.The funding that Gunning referred to was earmarked for specific non-salary areas of the fiscal year 2009 budget, meaning the department could not use it specifically to cover teacher salaries.Still, a boost in funding, even if it is non-salary related, could help administrators save jobs if they are able manipulate other line items in the budget.The proposed special education funding would come under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which provides resources for early intervention and special education funding for children.Title 1 funding, while more of a broad-based initiative, is still specific in that it is intended for schools with high numbers of financially disadvantaged students. School districts can use Title 1 funds to begin targeted assistance programs for underperforming students and to fund other programs within the school that are intended “to upgrade the entire educational program of the school to raise the academic achievement of all students.”Although any financial relief discussed at this point is mere speculation until the federal government can come to an agreement on the stimulus package, Gunning reiterated that at a time when dozens of teachers are on the chopping block due to budget cuts, knowing that the stimulus package could provide relief to Lynn fosters some optimism in the Teacher’s Union office.”If they are talking about that kind of money (before the package was cut), there is some money that is coming,” she said.