PSS: Fed funds go to personnel

The Public School System is currently losing federally funded resources to supplement its personnel needs in view of depleting local resources.

According to Federal Programs Coordinator and acting Fiscal Budget Officer William Matson, the amount of funds spent on personnel have actually increased five percent this year.
This translates to some $300,000 on an annual basis as opposed to last year.

Board of Education Member Marja Lee Taitano earlier rued over the current state of PSS’ finances, noting PSS’s incapacity to hire all the teachers it wants.

“We’re in an economic deficit. Everytime we wait for more money, we’re always disappointed. I say we stop babysitting our children in the classroom. I think the government should take a look at DPS’ budget,” Ms. Taitano said over in a meeting with other BOE members.

Much of the five percent increase in PSS’s dependence on federal funds is due to the additional class-size reduction teachers and increased Special Education personnel.

On the positive side, Mr. Matson said that although local funds are down, PSS is doing all it can to squeeze funds from federal grants to offset the deficiency on the personnel side.

“Federal funds allow us to hire some additional teachers. Also, we are spending everything we can on special education to provide services for the kids,” said Mr. Matson.

Last year, PSS spent $2.58 million in federal funds on personnel as compared to $2.72 million this year.

“We have been putting it on personnel because that’s where we need it most,” added Mr. Matson.

He further explained that PSS is not taking money away from other areas this year but extracting all the resources it can get from federal grants basically to support its personnel.

Meanwhile, PSS is currently spending nine percent less for payroll than it normally does, according to Mr. Matson.

This same time last year, PSS has already spent some $15.95 million on payroll compared to $14.47 million in the current year.

If PSS continues to work at this rate, it is projected that about $130,000 extra will be accumulated at the end of the fiscal year, according to Mr. Matson.

The budget officer, however, said that though this extra cash may sound a lot , in reality it’s very minimal.

PSS spends $1.2 million each payroll and $130,000 constitutes only about 10 percent of this whole amount.

“It’s gone before we know it,” said Mr. Matson. (MM)