Districts searching for ways to use federal funds intended for teacher salaries, benefits

A federal program designed to save teaching jobs is funneling nearly $3 million to Ozaukee County school districts that are scrambling to figure out how to spend the money on wages and benefits in the next two years.

The Port Washington-Saukville School District is a case in point. The district is receiving $692,496 from the federal Education Jobs Fund — the second most of any district in the county and enough to hire nearly 11 full-time teachers — but has not laid off educators recently and is in relatively good financial shape.

“The intent of the law is to keep teachers in the classroom in light of huge layoffs in some districts,” Supt. Michael Weber told the Finance Committee Monday. “Our school district has not laid off teachers, so we need to be creative with the use of these funds.   

“For a lot of districts across the country, this money is a real lifesaver. For our district, it’s an opportunity to enhance education for our students.”

The pitfall for districts is that the Education Jobs Fund is a one-time allocation. Districts that use the money to subsidize or increase fixed costs will have to fund those expenses themselves within two years.

“The challenge is using the money to benefit students without increasing recurring costs,” Weber said. “It’s definitely a challenge, but it’s a nice challenge to have.”