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Stimulus Money for School Districts? What Stimulus Money?
Money that is supposed to stimulate the economy is likely going to end up stimulating headaches for local school districts.

The Galesburg School Board's Budget Committee Thursday was presented with the just-completed financial audit for the 2009 Fiscal Year, and for the most part, auditor Teresa Welch of Blucker, Kneer, and Associates says finances are good in the district.

But what remains of concern is state aid payments -- not that they're behind, but the fact that a number of them aren't being bankrolled with state money, and instead, through the American Recovery and Revinvestment Act.

Welch says that means a much more stringent audit needs to be done.

"We have to go through and test those expenditures to make sure (those monies) are in compliance with the regulations that were put in place for usage of that money," Welch said. "We did that in this audit for the ARRA funds, for the four payments that were received last (fiscal) year, and (the district) used it as required."

Welch says that a stricter audit will need to again be done next year, since more state aid payments will be tied to stimulus dollars.

She says the public was under a "misconception" that the stimulus money going to school districts would be NEW money, when that's not the case at all.

$3.7 million was received last fiscal year in stimulus dollars in District 205; that is about 10 percent of the district's operating budget.
12 04 09 by Newsroom
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