NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The School Department is not expecting to lose its federal entitlement grants but cautioned they could decrease. 

 

The public schools get about $740,000 in Title 1, 2 and 4 grants, down from about $1.3 million a decade ago. So there is the potential for more reductions, said Kimberlee Chappell, the district's literacy and title grant coordinator.

 

"I feel confident that we're going to continue to see funds coming in and that it's not going to significantly impact what we do in district," she told the School Committee on Tuesday. "That being said, everything is unprecedented."

 

Committee members had expressed concern over actions being taken at the federal level by the current administration to freeze grants and threats to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education. 

 

"If we were to lose federal funding do we have a plan in place?" asked committee member Tara Jacobs. 

 

Chappell pointed out that the funding was not part of the DOE but rather allocated by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. 

 

"If would have to be an act of Congress in order for that to pass," she said. 

 

Superintendent Barbara Malkas agreed, saying the federal actions could affect competitive grants but the act would have to be rescinded by Congress. She's heard through the education network that there's not a strong will to do that — but there could be a reduction in funding. 

 

"Politically I don't know if that would be expedient because it would impact the very people who were strong supporters of the current administration," she said, adding, "I think we have to be prepared for everything."

 

Chappell's presentation was a closer review of the entitlement grants available to the district and how they are used, building on a broader report provided to the School Committee last month. The entitlement grants are assured every year and are part of the nearly $3.8 million in total grants for fiscal 2025. 

 

The district's allocation is dependent on the Census and the number of of students who come from low-income families. The amount is based on congressional allocations and funds have to be used toward the priorities spelled out in the act that support the school and district improvement plans. 

 

The entitlement grants had dipped over several years before a boost during the pandemic; those numbers are now on the decrease again. The district received $633,348 for Title 1, $54,547 for Title 2 and $46,575 for Title 4.  

 

"Title 3 are funds allocated for students whose first language is not English. And so, because we're such a low-incidence district, we actually participate in a consortium of other smaller districts that are also low-incidence," said Malkas. "We're talking hundreds, not thousands [of dollars]. And there's so many requirements around the use of those funds that sometimes we don't even get a chance to really implement with them."

 

North Adams is now a "full" Title 1 district, meaning the funds can be used from prekindergarten through Drury High School. The money must be used to improve and strengthen core programs to help children meet grade-level expectations using evidence-based instruction, provide teachers and leaders with professional development, support family initiatives, and sustain programming aligned with the state's educational framework in conjunction with other state and federal resources. 

 

Chappell said $4,000 is set aside annually for tutoring and other supports for North Adams students at local private schools, such as St. Stanislaus in Adams and Pine Cobble in Williamstown. Both declined this year, she said, noting St. Stan only had one student from North Adams.

 

The largest allocation in each entitlement grant is toward professional salaries to implement programming. For Title 1, that includes Chappell and the family and community and outreach coordinator, four of the six reading specialists in the district and nine reading assistants at Brayton School to support literacy. It also covers supplies and transportation.

 

"Each of these positions are strongly linked to delivering on  ... the Title 1 priorities," Chappell said. "We need those positions to strengthen core programs, for professional development for tacher and leaders and to increase family engagement in the district."

 

Title 2 is a support for improving the quality of teachers and equitable access to teachers for low income and minority students and also covers travel and conference costs. Chappell recounted a recent conference that she and the family outreach coordinator attended that focused on educational equity; six teachers will be heading to Boston for the Massachusetts Reading Association conference in March. 

 

Title 4 is to improve enrichment activites and support safe healthy and supportive learning environment that includes education technology and school conditions. Again, the bulk of the allocation is for salaries for the 21st Century Program and other after-school programs.

 

The grants are announced through the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education each July. Thomas Simon, director of student support services, said the state has some leeway in how it rolls out the grants and sometimes have programs at the state level they prefer to prioritize. 

 

Committee member Richard Alcombright asked about how the district was supporting family engagement and the importance and relevance of an education as part of home life. 

 

Chappell said she believed that families want to do what's best for their children but may be perceived in a different way when they come from various backgrounds and cultures.

 

"We're constantly trying to find new ways to engage families and what makes sense for them, and not under our purview," she said. "Because I think that traditionally, it's always been the school determines what you're able to do with your students, what counts as family engagement, and we're trying to look at it through a new lens."

 

In other business, Malkas said the administration has been working on a "cautiously optimistic" budget since October and has been reviewing the governor's budget released on Jan. 22. She anticipated presenting a spending plan to Finance and Facilities by the end of February or beginning of March.

 

Alcombright noted that the new personnel report had 16 substitutes and assistant subs and asked if this was because of the raise in wages. Malkas said, "the change in compensation was a major factor" as well as the amended criteria. 

 

The committee approved handbooks updates for students with disabilities and 504 plans and removed sections on attendance areas and "assignment of students to schools" as they no longer apply to the current grade configuration.

 

The committee voted to keep its enrollment cap at 2 percent in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Virtual Schools. Malkas said this will not affect students already enrolled and answered questions from committee members concerned that this would prevent students from enrolling. She said the office keeps a waiting list of students. There are currently 23 students enrolled.  

 

"It would just limit the number of students who could elect to go into the Commonwealth Virtual School until there is an opening," she said. "We see a lot of movement students who elect to go into the Commonwealth Virtual School, end up not doing well without the structure of school, and then come back and they have actually now increased a gap in their own educational experience. ...

 

"From my perspective, it encourages a more thoughtful process in electing to go into the Commonwealth Masss Virtual School."

 

The School Committee accepted a $100 donation to the Ski Club from Kathryn Wiseman and $1,000 donation to Drury athletics from the North Adams Elks.