School board approves grant fund applications

QCS Staff

The Tucumcari Public Schools Board of Education on Wednesday approved three grant fund applications for the 2014-2015 school year.

The largest of the three is an application for $518,729 in federal funds under Title 1 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which help cover costs in predominantly low income school districts.

Title I funds provide “financial assistance to...schools with high numbers or high percentages of children from low-income families to help ensure that all children meet challenging state academic standards,” according to the U.S. Department of Education website.

The amount is divided among the district’s three schools, according to grant documents, based on a total of $555 for each student in the district. All students in the Tucumcari district are presumed to be low-income, the application documents show.

For Tucumcari High School, with 237 students, the district is applying for $131,625. At Tucumcari Middle Schools, with 476 students, the district is applying for $264,180. At Tucumcari Elementary School, with 163 students, the district is applying for $122,655.

In the second application, the district will seek $25,742 in federal Title II funds under the education act to cover costs associated with “preparing, training and recturing highly qualified teachers and principals.”

Included in that total is a $9,702 total for core instruction training for teachers and teaching assistants in Educational Plan for Student Success systems designed to help students meet state goals for advancement, and $14,000 for training in continuous improvement methods for education and teacher recruitment efforts. Another $2,040 would cover administrative costs.

The third application approved Wednesday is for a planning grant of $18,851 from the New Mexico Public Education Department for rural low-income schools. The grant would cover 17 percent of a bilingual teacher’s salary, or $18,152, plus “indirect costs” of $699.