LC receives unexpected federal money

Published 10:20 am Thursday, February 18, 2016

Assistant Superintendent Letha Presley notified the Lincoln County School Board that the district received more federal money than expected this year.

The board approved to accept federal Title I, II and VI funding at its meeting Tuesday.

According to the Mississippi Department of Education’s website, Title I funding is provided to public schools with a high number of poor children to ensure they meet state academic standards. Title II funding is provided in an attempt to increase the number of qualified teachers and principals within a school district. Title VI funding is provided to rural school districts to increase the number of schools that can compete for federal grants.

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“Basically, I had to redo the Title 1 budget,” Presley said. “We got an additional $667, and so I just had to reallocate that. It went into supplies at the schools.”

Title II granted the school district an extra $10,000, bringing the total of Title II money to $130,000, Presley said. The district did not have enough money to pay a Bogue Chitto teacher’s salary, so it put the additional income toward it.

Presley said Title VI provided the school district with $60,353 in new money.

“This is money that we don’t necessarily get every year,” Presley said. “Every year we are told whether we would get it or not and then we apply for it. Last year we got it, and we spent it on software. We got the virtual reading coach.”

“This year, since last year we did software, we’re going to go back to technology,” she said. “Two years ago, we updated labs at Loyd Star and West Lincoln, so this time we’re updating labs at Enterprise and Bogue Chitto. Then with the money we have left over, we’re going to get Chrome books at Loyd Star and West Lincoln. We did call the principals and asked them what they would like, Chromebooks or computers, and they immediately said Chromebooks. We’re getting 46 Chromebooks, so each school will get 23.”

Presley said the teachers plan to use the laptops for testing and textbooks.

In other board business:

• The board approved a request from Presley for the district’s psychometrist to attend the 2016 Mississippi Assessment of Psychology in the School Conference, Feb. 29 – March 1, 2016 at Hinds Community College.

• The board approved a request from Child Nutrition Director Jeremy Berry, for him to attend the Mississippi School Nutrition Association nutrition education seminar April 7-8 in Gulfport.

• The board approved a request to declare eight buses surplus and advertise to accept sealed bids for them. It also approved two bus turnaround applications.

• The board approved a request from Howard Stogner, of the Mississippi Forestry Commission, to advertise for timber sales on 140 acres of 16-section land.