Grant money to boost technology

By: JENNIFER KABBANY - Staff Writer | Monday, February 19, 2007 11:12 PM PST ∞

TEMECULA -- Technology, supplies and training are the top three beneficiaries of about $2 million in grants promised by the state last year that the school district is poised to receive.

Officials are wasting no time in deciding how to spend that pile of cash.

For one, the Temecula Valley Unified School District board has approved a major $1.36 million upgrade to their technology system, which supports thousands of computers across 30 campuses.

"It's a big chunk of money, but it's something we felt we had to do," Trustee Rick Shafer said Monday. "We want our schools to be wired appropriately so they can stay ahead technology-wise."

The board voted 5-0 to approve the upgrade at a meeting earlier this month. The project is intended to vastly improve Internet connection speeds -- which some officials described as "painfully slow."

The upgrade is expected to allow teachers to utilize educational software over the Internet, lessons that cannot now be used because the network the district has is "inadequate" for the high -- and growing -- number of computers and respective users it must support, officials said.

"We have a lot of software we cannot use because it's so slow," board President Stewart Morris said Monday. "This just opens up things a thousandfold. Our librarians ... and everyone else said this is what we value. It is going to be an overwhelming improvement in terms of services and delivery."

Moreover, officials said they are saving several million dollars on the deal thanks to an agreement worked out in which the district is paying for the upgrade in one lump sum rather than in installments.

To pay for the upgrade, the district is using its one-time districtwide grant of about $528,000 -- part of the $2 million coming from the state -- as well as a few other sources of cash.

Much of the money financing the upgrade also is coming from grants meant to help each campus with its various needs -- the remaining $1.5 million coming from the state.

Those school-site grants, about $56 per student per school, are meant for general academic expenses. School-site councils determined how the money should be spent, officials said.

The districtwide and school-site grants have no strings attached, meaning the money can be spent in a variety of ways. The two grants are separate from money the district is set to receive specifically meant to boost the arts, physical education and counseling services at schools.

Those grants are also coming from the state as part of a funding boon from Sacramento this year. The district has received some, but not all, of that funding.

Morris said of the unrestricted school-site grants, about 25 percent from each is dedicated to the upgrade. He said the rest of the money will pay for a variety of needs at each of the schools, including new computers, conferences for educators, sports equipment, books for libraries and various textbooks.

It's unclear when the schools should expect their share of the money, officials said.

Assistant Superintendent Jeff Okun said at a budget workshop earlier this month that even if principals get the money sometime soon, they likely won't spend it right away since so much of the academic school year has already transpired.

The district is also expecting even more unrestricted state grant money in September. About 25 percent of that money is again meant to help pay for the network upgrade, with the rest also going to various school needs.

-- Contact staff writer Jennifer Kabbany at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2625, or jkabbany@californian.com.

CASH FLOW

The Temecula Valley Unified School District is determining how to spend about $2 million it will receive from the state through one-time grants that have no strings attached, meaning the money can be spent in a variety of ways. A rough breakdown of how the money will be spent is:

SUPPLIES -- $154,231

Includes purchasing a variety of books, workbooks, educational software, tutorial lesson plans and worksheets, library resources, sports or music equipment, educational classroom supplies, campus upgrades, etc.

TECHNOLOGY -- $639,183

Includes buying new computers, hardware and software, printers, computer lab supplies, laptops, technology support, upgrading current computer labs, etc.

INTERNET -- $808,938

Upgrades district network from slower telephone lines to faster fiber-optics for all 30 campuses plus the district office; project meant to help utilize online software and lessons, as well as for a variety of technology needs to maintain a large, growing district.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT -- $201,503

Includes money to pay for teacher conferences, workshops, training videos and seminars, substitutes for when teachers are receiving training, materials for enrichment programs, etc.

CLOSING ACHIEVEMENT GAP -- $30,360

Includes money for California High School Exit Exam tutoring, materials and support for at-risk students, after-school tutoring programs, etc.

* The breakdown includes allocations yet to be approved by the district Board of Trustees. Information was not yet available for Vintage Hills Elementary and Erle Stanley Gardner and Margarita middle schools, thus their dollar allocations have not been included.