by eila in City Finances, Economy & Poverty, Public Health & Safety, Schools and Youth, Transportation
Posted on June 24, 2009 at 6:58 pm
Last Modified on June 27, 2009 at 10:34 pm
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This Somerville ARRA Funding Watch is gleaned from the Massachusetts Area Planning Council’s Municipal Resource Guide on the Federal Economic Stimulus,
Pending all final approvals, Somerville is in line for $30,196,052 in American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds. (The above-linked MAPC document was updated on May 13, 2009. )
1. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (CDBG-R) $772,044
This is aside from the $5,234,351 that we’ve already been awarded, per annual CDBG Entitlement formula- see 10 Days to Go! Submit your Comments about the use of $772,044
2. BYRNE JUSTICE ASSISTANCE GRANTS (ARRA) $156,117
(See: Somerville’s JAG monies )
3. ENERGY EFFICIENCY CONSERVATION BLOCK GRANT ALLOCATIONS TO CITIES AND TOWNS (ARRA) $651,100
4. DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION – ALLOCATION OF ARRA FUNDS TO LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS
ARRA (Federal) Plus Chapter 70 (state aid) $21,816,371
5. HIGH PRIORITY ROADWAYS PROJECTS TOTAL: $6,800,420 as follows:
a. Assembly Square multi-modal improvements $6,259,219
b. Mystic Ave interchange – design $448,750
c. Union Square study $92,451
IN ADDITION, THE SOMERVILLE HOUSING AUTHORITY (SHA), a quasi-municipal agency, has been awarded PUBLIC HOUSING CAPITAL FUND ARRA ALLOCATIONS (Formula-based): $1,001,946.00
(This is aside from the Annual Funding that SHA has already been awarded from HUD- I don’t find that amount at this time.)
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Are these “on budget” or “off budget” allocations? That is, are they subject to the Board of Aldermen review, as is city money and some (but not all) state funding, or are they discretionary through the office of the Mayor. My bet is that (a) CDBG is off budget; (b) school department goes through the Superintendent & School Committee; and (c) the rest stays as off budget as the Mayor can make ‘em. And THAT is another one of those interesting fights for the Board of Aldermen. Does he pay off certain districts at the expense of others? Ah, now that’s real Somerville politics!
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Almost $22M for local school districts. How many students is that? If Somerville’s cut was $22M, what’s the total for MA?
Is it an unfair generalization to say that of the $6.8M for “high-priority roadway projects,” $6.2M is going to figure out how to deal with Ikea traffic?
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The Massachusetts total is around $2 billion. As of last week, the state had not bothered to apply – and the deadline is 7/1. Perhaps they’ll bother pretty soon, since, of that $2 billion, about $980 ,000,000 is pass through to cities and towns, once the state opens the gate.
And that $6.8 isn’t to figure it out. We know already. As Mike Capuano notes, the Orange Line will be just great for those who want to take a couch home on the subway.
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The money stated for the Somerville school district was outlined in the numerous presentations by the school committeee and is nowhere near the figure listed here.
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Joe Beckman – in response to your first post, last question – ABSOLUTELY.
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Incidentally, if we really did get SomerStat data we’d be able to see which wards got what. Now, THAT would really be transparency. As it is, it’s now “through a glass darkly.”
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To clarify the amount of money for Somerville schools from ARRA funds:
Somerville’s school portion is $1,219,107 for FY 2010. These funds must be targeted toward Title I and IDEA (special education).
By statute, 50% of that money must be used for “Recovery” to prevent layoffs and program reductions. To that end, the current budget uses $590,000 of ARRA funds to retain special education teachers, the MCAS remediation program, and reading teachers.
The other 50% must be directed toward “Reinvestment” for strategic one-time investments. There is an application process to apply for these funds to make sure that districts plan to use the money appropriately. That process is currently under way.
Best,
Adam
Adam Sweeting
School Committee — Ward 3
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Thanks for the info Adam, and it’s refreshing to hear special education is high on the list of priorities.
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Thanks Adam!
more specifics:
School-age IDEA: $810,284
pre-K IDEA: $31,460
Title I: $377,363
District Subtotal, Federal ARRA funds: $1,219,107
Chapter 70 State Aide (preliminary): $20,597,265
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and @Jared! The MA total of Federal ARRA for local school districts…
(from: “Current Federal Stimulus Allocations,” Mass. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 10 Apr. 2009
)
…is $390,887,677, so Somerville got ~3.1%
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These numbers float around a lot. I could swear I saw a preliminary allocation to Massachusetts of nearly $2billion, with over $800,000,000 to schools via Title I and IDEA. The closest I’ve been able to find it since, in various email files, is considerably less. I expect that’s because the ARRA budget is for 2 years, not 1, and so there’s another bundle for next year. Yet I’d be particularly interested in two twists of that budget. First, Title I is a huge amount larger than any earlier Title I allocation, and the High School has NEVER applied, although their numbers are quite adequate to collect a bundle. That is not a competitive proposal, and does go on the basis of need, and we have plenty of poor kids if only we could itemize them.
Second, the larger pool of discretionary money to the state, something like $1.2 billion, is for competitive grants, based, again, on need but also on achievement. For that we are uniquely well placed – on both fronts – to collect more than our share. If, that is, that is still a reasonable estimate of how much money is in the pot.
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I would cut the Chapter 70 figure even more. Although the state is supposed to fund schools under Chapter 70 with a certain percentage, the budget is going to be less since the money allocated from the “Powerball” approval will be taken out. The other states voted against allowing MA to join prior to voting and Cahill never let anyone know prior to the Senate and House voting.
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The Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grants were originally due yesterday, but at the last minute there was an extension granted until August 10th. Don’t know whether the City just got it in or took the extension. From what I hear, at least half of it is planned for use with residents, with the rest going for City buildings. That seems like a decent split to me.
The numbers float a lot because, other than the formula programs (CDBG, EECBG, HPRP, etc.) the numbers are the result of lobbying the state and so they are not fixed. In general it is good to see the city get some much stimulus money. Too bad the Green Line isn’t where it was supposed to be by now or we’d probably have stimulus money to pay for it.
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Reminder!
Finance – Committee of the Whole A G E N D A
Monday, June 29, 2009 – 6:30 PM
Aldermen’s Chamber – 2nd Floor – City Hall
FY-2010 Budget
6:30 PM: Public Hearing
7:15 PM: Review
Revolving Funds
Any and all business
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