Margo Nash, director of business affairs, told the Prior Lake-Savage Area School Board Monday that there will be a $32,179 decrease in funds from last year affecting six categories of the No Child Left Behind act due to a lack of federal loans.

The allocations are for the 2008-09 school year.

The funding for the Title I category of the act will decrease $22,726 from last year. The purpose of Title I is to provide remedial math and reading services to disadvantaged students.

Title I will not reduce the number of paraprofessionals working with students, but rather cut the number of hours each paraprofessional works from 130 days to 112 days next year, Nash said.

Funding for Title II Part A will decrease $3,683 from last year. The purpose of this category is professional development and class size reduction. All funds are used for class size reduction.

Funding for Title II Part D, to integrate technology, was discontinued for all schools in Minnesota in 2007-08 and will remain discontinued.

Funding for Title V, to encourage innovative programs, was decreased by $8,932. The category was discontinued due to no funding allocated to schools in 2008-09.

Title III of the act will be the only category to have an increase in funding next year. The increase will be $5,743. The reason for the increase is based on an increase in enrollment in the English Language Learners (ELL) program, Nash said. The purpose of the program is to provide academic services for all ELL students. The funds will be used to increase hours for the teachers, Nash said.

Funding for Title IV, to assist schools in creating drug-free, safe schools, was decreased by $2,581.

“This is not what we like to see, but it is what it is,” Nash said.

-- Shawn Hogendorf