Alachua County School Board discusses budget amendments, allocation of grant funds
While discussions at Tuesday night's Alachua County School Board meeting largely centered on the superintendent's contract, members also discussed the allocation of grant funds and an amendment to the district's recently approved budget that were both pulled from the consent agenda.
Grant discussions
Other items pulled from the consent agenda as proposed by board member Sarah Rockwell were related to supporting students with disabilities, tutoring programs, and applying for the Stronger Connections Grant Program.
Rockwell asked that seven grants be removed from the consent agenda after documents submitted to the state by Superintendent Shane Andrew claimed that the board had already approved the grant applications months earlier. The board, however, didn't approve any of the applications until late Tuesday night.
Board member Tina Certain expressed concern about funding applications being submitted before the board has had a chance to vote on them. Rockwell also raised concerns around communication and dates for grant applications.
Deputy Superintendent Cathy Atria said it’s often recommended by FDOE to submit applications before board approval due to timeliness. FDOE believes the district will get a better product if they review it and required changes are submitted prior to board approval, she said.
Board Chair Diyonne McGraw agreed, stating she wouldn’t want the district to miss out on or delay getting any money, especially a grant.
Regarding the reallocation of funds, Joram Rejouis, director of project development, explained that around $6 million in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds given to the district for HVAC unit replacement had not been used and would go back if not allocated.
The district submitted an amendment for the Department of Education (DOE) to consider repurposing the unused money to buy new technology, specifically laptops, for students.
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Budget amendments
Five amendments to the district’s budget also were approved, including about a $1 million increase to the general fund, and more than $20 million to special revenue funds.
The fifth budget amendment, however, which represented the shifting of capital projects funds from Oct. 1, 2023, through Oct. 31, 2023, was pulled from the consent agenda to be discussed by the board.
Both Certain and Rockwell voted against approving amendment five, which moves about $1 million in funds to make “swing school” Prairie View Elementary Academy a permanent international baccalaureate (IB) school.
“I don’t know where this $1.3 million is coming from or what other projects are not going to happen because of that, and I don’t know how we’re paying to open a new school,” Rockwell said. “Hoping that operational efficiencies are enough to fund it is not actually having a plan, that’s having a hope, and we can’t run a district on hopes and dreams — we have to have plans.”
Andrew said the $1.3 million is for ADA upgrades at Prairie View since it's now intended to be a permanent school. The district is working directly with IB and opening the school would not be an issue with them, he said. The cost is less than building a new school and will draw students from around the district and aid overcrowding issues, Andrew added.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Alachua County Public Schools regular school board meeting
