Alachua County schools could get a financial boost if Congress passes President Barack Obama's economic stimulus plan.
Under his proposed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Alachua County's public schools could get about $20.8 million over the next two years, according to data from the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Education and Labor.
The money would go toward programs such as special education and building construction, according to the data, and many feel like Alachua County's public schools can use some extra help.
"We're certainly in need," said Frank Burns, the principal of Hidden Oak Elementary School in Gainesville.
He said 85 to 90 percent of state education cutbacks force schools to make tough decisions like reducing the number of teachers and cutting special programs like art and music.
But with Congress still debating the stimulus plan, it's too early to expect money to come pouring into the district , Burns said.
"We're just concentrating on getting through this year," he said.
Alachua County schools have a 5-year plan to manage schools going through budget cuts, said Jackie Johnson, a spokeswoman for the School Board of Alachua County.
Each year the state reviews and updates the plan, which runs until the 2012-2013 school year.
Johnson said she wasn't sure what criteria Congress would use to determine how schools receive aid.
"If federal funding were to come our way, it would be terrific," Johnson said.
Overcrowded and run-down schools are two of the biggest problems facing the county, Johnson said.
Most of the schools are more than 30 years old and need about $193 million in repairs, she said
Alachua County's state funding has dropped severely as a result of statewide budget cuts, Johnson said.
Even property taxes collected to support schools won't help because a recent Florida law requires the money normally reserved for upgrades to be used for operating costs, Johnson said.
"It's essentially to mask the amount of operating funds we are losing," she said.
The other option for the district is to take out mortgages against school facilities, but this is only allowed for certain programs and won't fix most of the problems, Johnson said.
She said Alachua County has not sent program proposals for the plan.
The county shouldn't wait too long to address the problems, Johnson said.
"It's like a car," she said. "If you don't fix a small problem now, it becomes more expensive later on."
Chris O'Leary, 27, who has a daughter at A. L. Mebane Middle School in the city of Alachua, said the lack of funding is harming his daughter's education.
A teaching shortage at the school separated his daughter, Aileen, 13, from her favorite social studies teacher. The school moved the teacher to another grade because there weren't enough social studies teachers in that grade.
The school also dropped electives and crammed more classes into a shorter school day to make do with budget deficits, O'Leary said.
Schools cannot last much longer in this state, said O'Leary, a UF senior.
"It's like asking a poor person to live on $5 less," he said.
