Education Funding

Competition Heats Up for Federal Education Dollars

By Joetta L. Sack — April 15, 1998 4 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

When the Frederick County, Md., district moved to upgrade the computers in its elementary schools, administrators there knew where to look for funding: the federal Goals 2000 program.

Three years ago, the district received a $281,000, 18-month Goals 2000 grant to buy computers and software and provide teacher training for five elementary and two middle schools with large numbers of children from low-income families.

Frederick County is one of a growing number of districts that doggedly pursue federal, state, and private grant dollars to fill in the gaps in their annual budgets. Their rising interest comes at the same time that congressional Republicans are talking about compacting targeted education grant programs into larger, less regulated block grants.

“As funding gets tighter, people are becoming more aggressive in pursuing grants,” said Stephen K. Hess, Frederick County’s director of curriculum support, innovation, and evaluation.

About $350,000 of the 35,000-student district’s $200 million annual operating budget comes from a variety of competitive grants, he said, and district leaders want to increase that figure.

Administrators “are more pressured by the needs within schools and school systems to enhance their programs and add programs,” said Jacqueline Ferguson, who heads a Tucson, Ariz., grants-consulting firm.

A growing number of administrators, teachers, and outside consultants are “working on overload” to research and apply for education grants, she added.

It’s a tantalizing draw for educators: Millions of dollars in government and private grants ready to be handed out for much-needed projects, all for the asking.

But reaching the pot of gold can be challenging.

It starts with finding a program that fits a district’s desires, and then confronting a myriad of application forms and the tricky task of writing a winning proposal.

Some districts persuade a teacher or administrator to take on the task, or choose not to pursue such grants at all. Other, typically larger districts may hire several full-time grants specialists.

The Frederick County district last year hired a part-time grant-proposal writer to keep track of its submissions and watch for opportunities.

Collaborative Projects

A smaller district might call in someone like Deborah Weagley.

As a grant-development specialist representing the 18 districts in the Berks County Intermediate Unit in Reading, Pa., Ms. Weagley’s job is to research the vast array of federal, state, and private grants available for school projects, and pull together interested districts to write a proposal for a collaborative project. She also works as a consultant to other districts.

Ms. Weagley agreed that the competition for grants is increasing.

“The grants world has, probably in the last three to five years, become just incredibly competitive,” she said. It’s not unusual now to compete with 1,500 other districts for a federal grant, she added.

Proposals supported by many Republicans that would turn most federal spending into block grants for the states would kill many of the competitive grant programs the Education Department currently administers. Under a block-grant formula, the money would be distributed as general aid to states.

Currently, competitive grants make up $1.5 billion of the Education Department’s $34.8 billion budget.

Funding Boosts

Funding for some federal competitive-grant programs has increased in recent years. One such instance is the 21st Century Community Learning Centers, an after-school program highly touted by President Clinton.

Funding for the program jumped from $1 million in fiscal 1997 to $40 million for fiscal 1998, and Mr. Clinton has proposed increasing funding 400 percent, to $200 million, for 1999.

The Education Department received a record-setting 16,000 inquiries about the program this year, with about 2,000 applications, said Terry K. Peterson, a counselor and senior adviser to Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley. He expects that 200 to 300 of those applicants will receive grants.

Robert M. Stonehill, director of the department’s state and local services division, said his colleagues see a wide range of quality in grant applications. The department has noted a marked increase in the sources of those applications, he added.

Mr. Hess of Frederick County added that, in recent years, his district has had to upgrade its applications by offering more evidence of how a specific proposal would make a difference in the classroom.

“Far more sophistication is expected and required,” he said. “It means we have to do a better job.”

Despite rising interest, some consultants say that districts are still missing out on funding that could make the difference between mediocre educational projects and outstanding ones.

“There are funds out there that are unreal if people know how to get to them,” said John H. Holcomb, a professor at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas, who also coordinates seminars on grantwriting for educators.

Phale D. Hale, a well-known consultant who owns a firm in Washington, said the investment in a good grant-proposal writer usually returns dividends quickly. “Any school district that increases its capacity to write grants, it’s nearly paid for in the first year,” he said.

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Funding States Are Pulling Back on K-12 Spending. How Hard Will Schools Get Hit?
Some states are trimming education investments as financial forecasts suggest boom times may be over.
6 min read
Collage illustration of California state house and U.S. currency background.
F. Sheehan for Education Week / Getty
Education Funding Using AI to Guide School Funding: 4 Takeaways
One state is using AI to help guide school funding decisions. Will others follow?
5 min read
 Illustration of a robot hand drawing a graph line leading to budget and finalcial spending.
iStock/Getty
Education Funding A State Uses AI to Determine School Funding. Is This the Future or a Cautionary Tale?
Nevada reworked its funding formula hoping to target extra aid to students most in need. What happened could hold lessons for other states.
13 min read
Illustration of robotic hand putting coins into jar.
iStock / Getty Images Plus
Education Funding How States Are Rethinking Where School Funding Should Go
There's constant debate over the best way to allocate state money to schools. Here are some ways states are reworking their school funding.
7 min read
Conceptual illustration of tiny people is planning the personal budget, accounting, analysis.
Muhamad Chabibalwi/iStock/Getty