If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Such is the case with federal funding to assist area schools - from the recent Congressional "bailout" and Race to the Top monies that were announced last week. Of course, this needed cash will be making its way to a number of area districts.
Some of those districts know exactly where to put the funding while others are still trying to make a plan for the money.
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Make no mistake, the United States, New York state, Chautauqua County and the city of Dunkirk are either facing or running a deficit. Sending this money to all New York state schools does not solve the unending problem that seems to keep repeating itself year after year statewide: staff is likely to be reduced for the next budget cycle.
Some staff members who have been laid off in past years have been brought back to work, thanks in part to these grants or from stimulus dollars in 2009. But to keep throwing money to allow for more positions in our schools is not the answer.
We have seen student populations decline for the past 15 years. We already invest heavily in our schools through local and state taxes.
Additional federal funding for education - at a time when many in our country are worried about another downturn in the economy - is not the answer. But then again, whoever said the federal government and Congress make educated decisions?
