Issues on Formula Grants: The perception among our districts is that the Federal commitment to sustained support for Educational Technology is in doubt, and that the demands of AYP have begun to compete with and erode support for 21st century skills. Although we do our best to counter this perception, funding reductions speak louder than words.
Issues on Competitive Grants: A growing number of districts are identifying increasingly sophisticated plans for a steadily decreasing pool of resources.
Commentary on Dual Funding Structure (Formula and Competitive):
The dual funding structure:
hinders
has no impact
helps
Reach the program’s goals:
•
Allocate funds to high need populations
•
Equitably distribute program funds
•
Efficiently administer the program
•
Assess the program’s impact
•
Change classroom practice
•
Comments: Our small rural schools get such small allocations that it is difficult for them to use formula support.
