ABG/PA-Pact Grants:New Funding for School Libraries

Presented by:

Dr. Diane Frey, Asst. Superintendent, Columbia SD Deb Kachel, PSLA Legislation Chairperson Lynn M. Moses, School Library Development Advisor, PDE

PSLA Conference- May 2, 2009

Goals for Today’s Session

Understanding school funding in Pennsylvania

What funding is available?

How do we get it?

State Educational Funding 101

Base cost per student ($8,698) Average daily attendance English Language learners Geographic price difference Size of district Community poverty

BES – Basic education subsidy is based on a formula that considers:

State Educational Funding 101

Special Education Funding

ABG - Accountability Block Grants (begun in 2004-05)

PA-Pact (PA Accountability to Commonwealth Taxpayers

EAP- Educational Assistance Program

In addition to the BES or BEF, districts receive:

Some Statistics on the Cost of Educating PA Students

“Costing Out” Study of 2007 found that it costs $11,926 on average to educate a PA student per year (base of $8,003 + additional for special needs & adjustments for geographic cost factors ).

471 out of 501 districts spend below their “costing out” estimate.

In 2006-07, the state share was 36.2% while the national average was 47.6%.

Governor’s Budget & School Libraries

1. Basic Education Subsidy/Funding Payments to school districts to support basic instruction

In 2009-2010 it will include the

Accountability Block Grants (ABG)

2. Electronic Library Catalog includes ACCESS PA

3. Library Access Includes ILL & POWER Library

3. Classrooms for the Future

PSLA Lobbies for Language in Funding Bills about School Libraries

Legislators Breakfast, Harrisburg, April 2008

Committee members met with over 36 legislators

Prepared packets distributed to legislators

PSLA Legislators@Your Library Campaign

Beginning in 2008-09, PSLA Legislation Committee activities focus on awareness of inequities in school library services across the state.

What We Learned About What Legislators Believed

Misconceptions School libraries are funded by

the state

School libraries & staffing are required for all schools

School libraries are part of Commonwealth Libraries and directed by its divisions

Realities Funding is discretionary by

school board & administrators

No requirements or mandates-40% of PA schools have no library or librarian

School libraries are part of the Office of Elementary & Secondary Education and have no divisional voice

New Language – PA-Pact (Spr 2008)

New Section 2502.49. Accountability to

Commonwealth Taxpayers.

Any increase in a school district's basic education

funding that is above the Act 1 inflation index

(4.4% for 2008-2009) must be used for services

for students as follows

Uses of Funds above the Inflation Rate

At least 80% of the increase above the inflation index shall be used for any of the following:

more classroom time (i.e., tutoring or longer school days or yrs)

teacher training new and more rigorous courses class size reduction pre-kindergarten and full-day kindergarten recruiting effective teachers and principals school library services. (Library services may include:

employment of librarians or hiring additional library staff, purchasing of printed or electronic materials for library collections.)

New Language –Pennsylvania Accountability Grants (Spr 2008)

Amended to add new allowable uses for Accountability Block Grant funding

1. to establish, expand or maintain a career awareness program and

2. to purchase materials or extending service hours for school libraries.

2009- 2010 State Funding Options

PA-Pact (now includes ABG) –

non-competitive, but must be approved by PDE via eGrants

LSTA competitive grants

• Collection Development $5,000

• Information Literacy/Laptop $30,000

• Dual Enrollment Library grants up to $100,000

(This is outside the budget given by your district.)

What you need to know about PA-Pact Funds

Good News- Every district will be eligible because every district will receive over the 4.1% inflation rate thanks to the federal stimulus money for 2009-2010.

Must use the eGrants online system to apply Every district has a designated person who completes

the eGrants applications PA-Pact will have several strategies listed as acceptable

ways to utilize this money YOU need to lobby your local district administrators to

select the school library strategy and volunteer to help

Columbia Borough School District

Background:New Library Media SpecialistPresented a “State of the High School Library” report to the School Board which included:

•Average size/age of the collection

•Age of each Dewey category, fiction , and reference collection•Number of books per decade starting with Pre-1900

•Number of recommended books and periodicals

•Research on impact of school library media programs on student achievement •Need for a full-time library assistant

•Circulation Statistics

•A vision of what the library program could become

RESULT: The Board allocated $25,000 for new library resources with a plan to increase funding levels for the library over the next five years.

COLUMBIA BOROUGH SCHOOL DISTRICT

PA-PACT GRANT $95,206

Grant Requirements: Specific student performance challenges identified by the district that will be addressed by this strategy Specific student outcomes the district expects from this strategy and how will they be assessed?

How will the school library be integrated into the school improvement process?

RESULT:

$73,206 - NEW LIBRARY RESOURCES

$22,000 - A FULL-TIME LIBRARY ASSISTANT

How the Other Four Districts used PA-Pact Funds in 2008-09 for School library Services

Hired additional staff Bought playaways Bought all Newbery & Caldecott winners Bought materials

Only 5 districts made use of the library services strategy in 2008-09 due to late notice

How Much Money Are We Talking About?

School districts and the amount over the 4.1% inflation rate will be listed on the PDE website.

Details of the proposed 2009-2010 Budget with a spreadsheet of districts is available at http://www.pdeinfo.state.pa.us/education_budget/cwp/view.asp?a=3&Q=71004

Convincing Your District to Apply their Pa-Pact Funds to Library Services

1. Let them know that you know about the funding2. Show them research indicating how school libraries

impact student achievement3. Provide them with data about your school library

program4. Compare your library’s budgets, collections, staffing

to PA Guidelines5. Tell them how you will improve student achievement

with added dollars

Research showing how School Libraries impact Student Learning

Use the literature: School Libraries Work! Key Players Measuring Up To

Standards (PA Impact Study, 2000)

See bibliography of sources

Data about your School Library Program

Number of books per student Number of computers Number of classes utilizing the library

per year Information Literacy Curriculum and

how it ties to PA

Academic Standards

Comparisons to Guidelines & Other Data

Pennsylvania Guidelines for School Library Programs (c2005)

SLJ Average Book Prices (March 2009) AASL Crisis Toolkit

http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/aaslproftools/toolkits/crisis.cfm

AASL Advocacy Toolkit http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/aaslproftools/

toolkits/aasladvocacy.cfm

How School Libraries Contribute to Student Learning

With added access and better collections, students will become capable and avid readers

With resources and technology to teach, students will become information literate

Teachers who partner with librarians create high-quality learning experiences that are resource-rich

Action Steps

Join forces with other librarians in your district

Collect dataGather convincing researchPrepare a one-two page proposalMake an appointment with the

Principal and the SuperintendentCharm and persuadeDO IT NOW!!!

The school librarians need to take action.

IF YOU WANT MORE MONEY, START TALKING!

...BECAUSE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IS THE

BOTTOM LINE!

For more information, here are some contacts:

Marlene Kanuck (mkanuck@state.pa.us) Accountability Block Grant Coordinator (approves plans; help with applications) Phone: 717-783-9294 Lynn Moses (lmoses@state.pa.us) PDE, School Library Advisor (help with ideas for improving school library services) Phone: 717-783-9547

Deb Kachel (dkachel@mansfield.edu) PSLA Legislation Chairperson (info on how this became part of the educational finance act)

Dr. Diane Frey (dfrey@columbia.k12.pa.us), Asst. Superintendent, Columbia SD (example of a funded grant)