With approximately $200,000 in unanticipated state and federal funds now expected to benefit Harvard’s schools in fiscal 2010, the School Committee decided at its April 13 meeting to withdraw a capital planning request for $70,000 from the warrant at the Annual Town Meeting May 2.
The warrant item would have asked citizens to appropriate funds for SMART Boards for the elementary school. SMART Boards are essentially large, wall-mounted screens that allow lessons to be projected from laptop computers. The $70,000 includes the cost of the technology, laptop computers, and staff training.
The School Committee agreed to withdraw the request because the town expects to receive $150,000 from the state’s Individuals with Disability Education Act and approximately $50,000 in federal stimulus funds. It is too late to remove the request—Article 8 on the warrant—from the Capital Planning Committee. Therefore, the School Committee agreed to pass over the request when it reaches the floor at Town Meeting.
The committee is budgeting for the purchase of 13 SMART Boards. Committee members argued that the technology is critical to the development of curriculum and that it is no longer a luxury. The committee was united in the belief that SMART Boards help teachers address the diverse learning styles and strengths of students.
The SMART Board purchase is likely to come out of the IDEA funds. There are some restrictions on how these funds can be spent, however the committee appeared confident the SMART Boards and other proposed expenditures will fall within the guidelines. The money must be spent on technology, adaptive technology, professional development for both regular and special education and instructional material. The proposed school budget includes expenditures on professional development and technology, most notably for special education.
Committee member Virginia Justicz expressed concern that even with the $200,000 in unexpected funds there might not be enough money to purchase the SMART Boards once the professional development and technology requests had been satisfied. She noted, “The cost is roughly one half of the anticipated stimulus money. Do we have competing uses [for the funds]?” Superintendent Thomas Jefferson replied, “They can be met within the funding available.”
Harvard can expect to receive another $150,000 in IDEA funds in fiscal 2011, at which time the funding ceases. The future of federal stimulus money is unclear. The approximately $50,000 designated for Harvard is the minimum amount a municipality can receive; funding is determined by the income level of residents.
