Federal windfall to prevent teacher layoffs, cutbacks

The $98 million the Philadelphia School District expects to receive under the federal Education Jobs Bill could not have come at a better time, according to the district's chief financial officer.

The district expects to get $49 million this school year which will make up for lost revenue in its $3.2 billion budget, Michael Masch told the School Reform Commission Wednesday.

For starters, the money helps replace $55 million in state aid the district did not receive, he said.

"We will be able to maintain a balanced budget for the 2010-2011 school year without any teacher layoffs or any cutbacks or reductions of educational programs," said Masch, who gave a presentation during the commission's regular planning meeting.

The federal funds will pay for the salaries of 524 teachers, he said.

When the commission adopted the district budget in late May, Masch had warned that classroom programs might have to be cut if the Legislature did not provide the full $1.68 billion in education funding Gov. Rendell had proposed.

In addition, district officials were disappointed when Pennsylvania lost out last month in the competition for federal Race to the Top funds for education reform. The Education Jobs bill, Masch said had turned out to be an unexpected boon.

The money from the federal jobs bill, which aims to save or add positions, can only be used for salaries and benefits of school-based employees.

The jobs bill, which was enacted in Washington on Aug. 10, provides $10 billion to states to retain or add school-based jobs through September of 2012. Pennsylvania is slated to receive $388 million.

Masch said he calculated the district's share based on the state's school-funding formula.

The district expects the remaining $49 million in the 2010-11 school year.