South Carolina’s Green Stimulas

With the approval of an $80 billion dollar clean energy fund.  What is South Carolina doing to go green? Well it seems it may being with the schoool system.  Greenville new’s Ron Barnet’s article breaks it down for us.

The state’s education system could be in line for $1 billion from the economic stimulus plan approved by the U.S. House of Representatives this week, including $627 million for K-12 school construction, programs for needy students and special education, according to estimates from the Congressional Research Service.

Greenville County Schools, the state’s largest district, could get an estimated $54.9 million over two years, if the legislation goes through as written, House documents show.

Anderson 1 would get $4.2 million, Pickens would get $9.9 million, Laurens 55 would have $4.7 million coming and Laurens 56 would receive $3.2 million.

Oconee would be slated for $6.9 million and Spartanburg 5 would get $3.7 million, under the estimates.

Greenville County Schools would get $18.7 million for school construction this year, plus an extra $8.5 million in Title 1 money for schools with high poverty levels, and $8.8 million from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act for special education programs.

That comes to a total of $36 million this year to Greenville County Schools. The total for 2010 would be $18.9 million, including $8.5 million for Title 1 and $10.3 million for special education. No construction funds are listed for any district in 2010.

State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex said the Obama transition team asked all states’ chief school officers several weeks ago to submit a list of “shovel ready” projects. Rex polled all of South Carolina’s school districts.

With only 35 of the state’s more than 80 districts reporting, the requests already total four times the amount that’s likely to be available, according to Elizabeth Carpentier, deputy superintendent for innovation and support. As it stands now, the state would get $206 million for school construction projects, she said.

She hadn’t sorted through the district requests to determine which ones would qualify. The money can’t be used for athletic facilities, and 25 percent must go for “green projects,” she said.

Greenville, Pickens and Laurens county districts haven’t submitted their requests yet, according to her worksheet.

Among projects on the wish list so far:

* Oconee asked for $750,000 for a roof replacement at Ravenel Elementary and $2 million for a new roof at Seneca High.

* Anderson 1 submitted a request for $85.7 million for “various” construction projects. Anderson 4 asked for $1.5 million for “a much needed roof restoration.”

* Spartanburg 4 put in for money for a variety of projects at Woodruff high, middle and elementary schools. Greenwood 51 listed projects at Ware Shoals High, Junior High, Elementary and Primary schools.

Such a big infusion of cash would help with the state’s school facility needs but wouldn’t solve its long-term money problems, which requires overhauling the education funding system, Rex said.

“It would be temporary, but if we can get these reforms under way that we were talking about (in the state Legislature) it might make the bridge from here to there a little less painful than we had originally thought it would be,” Rex said. “It’ll help, but it’ll be a short-term positive effect.”

A 2007 survey indicated a $3.3 billion shortfall in funding for school facility needs statewide, according to the state Department of Education.

In addition to the money for the K-12 system, the state would get $82.7 million for higher education repair and modernization, $15.5 million for education technology, $36 million for child care development grants, $9.9 million for Head Start, and $253.1 million in Pell grants, according to House figures. 

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