Dr. Jerry Giger, superintendent of the Rolla School District, updated the Board of Education on the amount of Stimulus funding the district is expecting to receive.

“We can narrow down the amounts we will be receiving,” Giger told the board, noting that the funds were one-time only.

There are three areas the district knows for certain it will be receiving Stimulus funds, he said.
For the Individuals with Disabilities Improvement Act, Missouri has been allocated $227 million; Rolla will receive $945,612 of that.

Tittle One, special education funds, Missouri received $147.6 million; Rolla will receive $522,807.
For Tittle Two-D technology funding, the state was allocated $9.7 million and Rolla will receive $16,261, he said.

The district could still potentially receive more funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act but those figures have not been determined yet, according to Giger.

“It is incumbent on us not to build our on-going (budget) estimates on these dollars,” Giger told the board, since the funds are a one-time infusion.

Giger also presented another opportunity for the board to capitalize on other Stimulus funds.
Qualified School Construction Bonds are designed to create a new category of tax credit bonds for various school construction projects, according to Giger.

QSCBs provide no-interest bonds schools can use for construction projects or land acquisition for school construction.

The only caveats are that bond issues must be passed in 2009 or 2010 to be eligible and there is a limited amount of QSCB funds, with Missouri receiving $280 million for the QSCBs, he added.

“This would be a great opportunity to help stimulate the economy in Rolla,” Giger said.