Now We Know - It's A No

The word from the Department of Education is that eight schools out of 37 applicants have been approved for funding for the Extended Day Initiative - and North Adams is not among the eight. There's only $4.5 million in additional funding this time around. Our submitted plan alone for three elementary schools and Conte Middle School would require $1.5 million in funding.

This is what we feared and what we warned about the first time around. Now, we wait until next year. But our time may have passed. We will probably see the Extended Day in North Adams someday - but it may not be until it's mandated and underfunded.

We Don't Know Yet

May 23rd came and went. That was the date we were to hear whether North Adams would be included on the D.O.E. recommended list for funding of the Extended Learning Day. There were conversations but no commitments made. So we don't know yet. What we do know is that the available funds this time around are much more limited than last year - and the number of school districts applying for funding is much higher than last year. Getting ELT funding for all four schools (Brayton, Greylock, Sullivan and Conte), given the limited funding, is an increasing concern. For the elementary schools, it has to be all three. So it may come down to the elementary schools - or the middle school - or no school. We should hear something within the next couple of weeks. Final word on funding may not be until July.