School Information System
Newsletter Sign Up |

Subscribe to this site via RSS: | Newsletter signup | Send us your ideas

January 10, 2010

Grant great, but Hillsborough district must find $100 million

Sherri Ackerman:

The Hillsborough County school district is getting $100 million in a private grant over the next seven years to overhaul education.

But the money comes with a catch: The district must come up with $100 million from other sources to finish the job.

Where to get the money in a sparse economy remains a question, leaving some district leaders defensive while others shrug.

"We don't have $100 million," acknowledges school board member Dorthea Edgecomb.

One thing is for certain: There is give in a district budget that runs about $3 billion a year, so administrators are confident they can shift money from other programs to initiatives prescribed in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant.

Among the possible sources:

•$16 million over three years to create a computer lab to prepare for the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test to move online.

A useful article. Grants should not drive strategy, as we've often seen. Rather, they should be considered in light of an organization's plans. It would also be quite useful to see how effective past initiatives have been.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at January 10, 2010 11:59 AM
Subscribe to this site via RSS/Atom: Newsletter signup | Send us your ideas