State Education Commissioner John B. King Jr. announced last week that he has restored $11.5 million in School Improvement Grants for the Syracuse City School District.

The Syracuse school district was one of five districts including Poughkeepsie, Rochester, Albany and Schenectady to have its SIG restored after they were suspended in January, said Richard Strong, school board president.

The grants were suspended for 10 districts across the state due to failure to reach teacher evaluation and support agreements that fulfilled the state and federal requirements for the SIGs, according to a Feb. 22 press release from the New York State Department of Education.

‘After SIG funding was suspended in January, these five districts went back to the drawing board and worked out agreements that meet the state and federal requirements,’ King said in the release.

He said teacher evaluations and improvements funded with the SIG money should bring a better education to the students at these schools.

The reinstatement of the Syracuse school district’s grant money came after a period of negotiations between the school district, the Syracuse Teachers Association and the Syracuse Association of Administrators, according to the school district’s news release. The agreement focused on the improvement of instructional practices in schools, including teacher development and the promotion of learner-centered schools.

Syracuse Teachers Association President Kevin Ahern said in the news release he is pleased the SIG funding will be restored.

‘This means the dedicated educators we represent will be able to continue providing direct services and quality instruction to their students,’ Ahern said. ‘We hope the state recognizes the collaborative efforts of the union and the SCSD to do what is in the best interest of kids,’

Strong said though the district is pleased with the reinstatement of the grant money, there are still improvements that need to take place in the future.

‘A lot of the grant money we’re receiving this year is going to be going to people like the district’s faculty and staff instead of going towards improving the schools directly,’ Strong said.

Strong also said this year’s grant money is not allotted toward helping close the $35.1 million budget deficit that the district is currently facing.

‘The district’s budget is a totally different thing,’ Strong said. ‘The School Improvement Grant’s purpose is aimed more towards the improvement of staff evaluation at low performing schools.’

Superintendent Sharon Contreras said in the school district’s news release that the restoration of the Syracuse City School District’s SIG money was necessary for the success of the district.

‘We are extremely pleased that our School Improvement Grant Funding has been reinstated,’ Contreras said in the release. ‘The permanent loss of this funding could have had a paralyzing effect on our students and staff in some of our neediest schools.’

adhitzle@syr.edu 

Published on February 28, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Alexandra: adhitzle@syr.edu | @LexieHitzler