Duluth schools to divide $1.95 million from federal government

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The Duluth school district will benefit from federal money meant to retain more teachers and staff.

The Education Jobs Fund provides $10 billion to states, including $167 million for Minnesota and $1.95 million for Duluth.

District spokeswoman Katie Kaufman said administrators will study options for using the money and then will meet with the School Board to give recommendations.

“The district will need to be thoughtful about how the dollars are spent,” she said. “It’s one-time money and annual deficits are projected for the next several years.”

Kaufman also said there’s a possibility that after lawmakers meet in January, school districts could lose state revenue or not receive increases.

“In other words,” she said, “we could receive the new federal funds but lose state funds.”

The district made

$4.5 million in cuts to its budget this year, when it laid off more than 40 tenured and non-tenured teachers, made cuts to programs and non-certified staffing levels, and consolidated Central and Denfeld high schools for this school year.

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said he expects the money to save at least 160,000 educators throughout the country who would have otherwise been laid off.

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