Staff Writer

How do you divide $160 million among 200,000 or so children in 16 counties while stimulating the economy and not the wrath of Vice President Joe Biden? The state’s Department of Education intends to find out, as Commissioner Sue Gendron develops a plan to spend federal stimulus dollars. 

To be eligible for the funding, Gendron said each state must show they have a mechanism to distribute the funding. Maine will use the Essential Programs and Services, or EPS formula, she said.

Typically, the EPS formula is used to determine how much General Purpose Aid, or GPA funding to distribute to school districts, Maine’s Department of Education relies on a mathematical equation commonly referred to as the EPS formula. Some disagree with the formula’s principals, as possibly inaccurate property values play a large role in determining GPA funding, but Gendron said the mechanism will be key in receiving more than $160 million in federal stimulus dollars. 

“We are very fortunate in that we already have a system in place. I spoke with the commissioner in Connecticut, which doesn’t have a formula, and they are in a very different place,” Gendron said on Monday during a gathering of superintendents from throughout the state. “Many of you in the room may disagree with me, but it is a good thing that we have EPS.”

In December, the state used the same EPS system to determine how much funding each school district would lose in a state-wide GPA curtailment of more than $27 million – a shortfall in funding Gov. John Baldacci said will now be replaced with stimulus money. 

“Restoring the curtailment in [2009] will be the first order of business,” he said. “The rest can be used to restore jobs and programs and, if there is an opportunity, to look at one time investments.”

Gendron said stimulus dollars could start putting money back in school administrators’ pockets as early as next month, but some are worried it will not be quite the same as receiving a full GPA stipend. 

“They’re telling us we’re going to receive the same amount that was curtailed, but with stimulus money,” South Portland Schools Business Manager Polly Ward said. “That’s great, but it’s not GPA, it can’t be used in the same way.”

Ward’s concerns are based on tight restrictions tied to the possible uses of the money, available through the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, or SFSF, just one portion of President Barack Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Gendron said the SFSF dollars and other new money – including and additional $39 million available through the state’s Title 1 law – will be subject to some of the closest bookkeeping she has ever seen. She said administrators will be required to record where every dollar is spent and its function, whether used to save a position, create a new program or fill gaps in the operating budget.

“There are quarterly reporting requirements and all future funding is dependent on those reports being filed on time,” she said. “This is a much higher level of scrutiny than we’ve ever had. We’re really going to have to be exceptionally careful about our data reporting.”

Other superintendents said they were concerned the one-time funding could create a financial “cliff” two years down the road. Gendron said administrators will have to be careful to invest in sustainable programs and staffing to avoid the potential pitfall.

“We will invest wisely in our students and our staff,” she said.

Gendron said applications for the funds could be submitted by the end of this month and stimulus money could start coming within two weeks after the application is received by the federal government. Estimates as to how much individual school districts could receive were expected to be released by the end of the week, she said on Monday. In addition to the immediate funding, school administrators will also be able to apply for competitive “Race To The Top” grants included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment act beginning this fall, Gendron said. 

“Every day we are getting closer to understanding the entire picture,” Baldacci said. “It is an opportunity to catch our breath.”