Students, leaders and alumni of America’s historically black colleges have been celebrating the election of Barack Obama to the presidency of the United States, a step that removed one of the last barriers of opportunity for Americans of African ancestry. However, many of these same supporters are probably wondering if the new president is actually a friend of their institutions, given the reduction in funding as outlined in the next federal budget.
According to news sources, changes to a student loan law in 2007 yielded tens of millions of dollars to black managed schools, but those monies have not been allocated for the upcoming budget. Instead, direct aid to these schools would climb from $238 million to $250 million for the coming fiscal year. However, that $12 million increase only covers a portion of the $85 million historically black schools have come to rely upon over the past two years under the Bush administration, creating a $73 million deficit in the eyes of some.
Pell Grant Funding Increase Proposed
Officials representing the U.S. Department of Education have made it clear that all colleges and universities should gain from other parts of the budget, most significantly from the proposed increase in the maximum Pell Grant for low-income students by $200 — to $5,550.
Other education priorities as outlined in the fiscal budget for 2010 include the following:
- Provide $1.5 billion for Title I School Improvement Grants to give states and school districts resources to create and implement comprehensive, research-based plans for the growing numbers of schools identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring. The money in the FY 2010 budget proposal will be in addition to the $3 billion available for the program in FY 2009 and FY 2010 through the ARRA.
- Allocate $517 million to the Teacher Incentive Fund, which stimulates state and local work to improve the education workforce, with an emphasis on rewarding principals, teachers, and other school personnel who raise student achievement, close achievement gaps, and work in hard-to-staff schools. The program received $200 million in the ARRA and $97 million in FY 2009.
- Create new programs that ensure students are prepared to enter school, including $500 million for Title I Early Childhood Grants, which will encourage districts to spend money under the ARRA to start or expand preschool programs, and the $300 million for the Early Learning Challenge Fund, which will help states create or refine systems for rating and improving the quality of preschool education.
Additional Pell Grant Commitments
As far as Pell Grant funding goes, the Department of Education is committed to managing this program, seeking it to increase by the rate of inflation plus one percent in future years. Thus, what the historical black colleges lose from direct funding could be more than made up through Pell Grants.
Source: U.S. Department of Education
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