More schools to split federal poverty money
By Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Education Writer
Nearly 50 public schools stand to gain millions of dollars in federal money when the new school year starts, but it will come at a cost to 156 other campuses that teach the state's largest concentrations of high-poverty students.
In all, nearly three-quarters of Hawai'i's public schools are affected by a new formula that lowers the requirement for schools to qualify for federal Title I money, which is meant to provide extra money for poor children. The result is that 73 percent of the state's campuses will be categorized as high poverty when the new school year begins.
The designation is important because it can bring coveted federal dollars and the flexibility to hire extra teachers, purchase textbooks or provide extra teacher training.
But because the state will see no new flood of federal money, principals at some Hawai'i campuses will lose tens of thousands of dollars from their budgets and are struggling with decisions to cut programs.
"It will be very difficult," said Sandy Ahu, principal at Nanakuli Elementary, which will lose $47,000 of its $197,000 federal money. "I think we have to start looking at how to meet the needs of the schools that have the most needs."
Poverty is a major risk factor for poor performance in school, and the state Department of Education said the goal was to spread federal money to as many schools as possible to address the problem.
The DOE dropped from 45 percent to 35 percent the number of students receiving free or reduced-price lunches that a school needs to qualify for Title I money.
That expands the number of high-poverty schools from 156 to an estimated 205 schools serving 123,569 of the state's 183,000 public schoolchildren. The 205 schools will have a share of $36 million in federal Title I money next year.
At Nanakuli Elementary, about 74 percent of students qualify for the free or reduced-price lunch program, a common measure of poverty.
The $47,000 the school will lose pays for four tutors to help children with reading and math.
Ahu said she will be able to keep one tutor on staff and was successful in getting a grant to keep a second. But the other two tutors won't return to campus next year.
"We have to make do and see where we can find grant monies and community support," Ahu said.
Farrington High School, the state's largest with 2,421 students, will lose $130,448 of its $653,000 in federal money.
But some schools that have always come tantalizingly close to meeting requirements for the federal money will finally be able to do so.
McKinley High School had 795, or 44.9 percent, of its students qualifying for free- or reduced-lunch last year, just shy of qualifying for Title I money.
This year the school will receive an estimated $258,000 in federal money.
Waipahu High, with 42 percent of its students in the free- or reduced-lunch program, will receive $326,000.
Elaine Takenaka, educational administrative services director at the DOE, said the department tried to provide resources to as many schools as it could.
"The state is not in a position to provide schools with additional funding," Takenaka said. "The superintendent was looking at ways to provide more schools with additional funding because they are supposed to be meeting higher standards. It's hard to say do it and not offer any resources."
The DOE looked at last year's list of Title I schools and determined that, overall, high-poverty schools seemed to be receiving enough money. Officials decided to lower the requirement to 35 percent to spread the money around more. They also decided to provide all Title I schools with at least $50,000. If small schools receive less than $50,000 under the Title I formula, the DOE will make up the difference out of its own budget.
"That is a commitment to provide as many schools with the resources that they need," Takenaka said.
States have the authority to set the qualifications for Title I funding at 35 percent of students or higher, Takenaka said.
The federal money comes with strings, however.
While it provides budget flexibility, it also represents added pressure on schools to increase standardized test scores. Under the No Child Left Behind Act, high-poverty schools that accept federal money must show they are putting that money to good use by demonstrating progress in math, reading and writing test scores.
But that progress has proved elusive, and Hawai'i's high-poverty schools have been the state's academic underachievers.
Virginia Padayhag, principal at Kaleiopu'u Elementary School in Waipahu, said her school, which was not Title I last year, now will receive about $108,000 in federal financing. About 37 percent of her students qualify for free- or reduced-price lunches.
"There's two ways of thinking about it. On the one hand, we will have some extra money to be able to serve our students who need the most help," Padayhag said. "On the other hand, there's also the federal law that might make us a corrective action school down the line. There's a lot more pressure."
The No Child Left Behind law forces schools that have failed to meet standards for two years in a row to let students transfer to better public schools within the district. Schools that fail for three consecutive years become labeled as "corrective action" and also must pay for extra academic help, such as tutoring.
Padayhag said she could take about half of her $108,000 and hire one additional teacher for the school. But instead, the Kaleiopu'u will focus on training the teachers it already has.
"It sounds like a lot of money but it's really not," she said.
"We're going to do more in services, more staff development. It's better to develop the skills of the staff that we have than to bring in one new person."
Reach Jennifer Hiller at jhiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.
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