Schools top recipients of stimulus funds

<p>Millions in new federal stimulus funds are flowing into the North Coast to pay for law enforcement, combat homelessness, subsidize alternative energy projects and fund school and health services.</p><p>The funds, totalling $58.6 million, are being received by counties and cities, police departments, health centers, schools and Native American tribal centers, according to lists provided by Reps. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, and Lynn Woolsey, D-Petaluma, and from the state Department of Education.</p><p>LAW ENFORCEMENT</p><p>$1.1 million</p><p>Many agencies are pooling new stimulus money with existing U.S. Department of Justice grant programs.</p><p>Cloverdale, for example, plans to acquire computers and video systems in 13 patrol cars, buy two replacement vehicles and purchase a mapping system.</p><p>It is receiving $14,739 in stimulus money, which it hopes to use with another $290,000 in money it has applied for in other state and federal funds, some of which is also stimulus money, </p><p>“We don’t have the staffing, so it is hard to apply for the grants, but it definitely worth our time to do that,” said Cloverdale City Manager Nina Regor.</p><p>Utilizing stimulus funds that have been awarded, Sonoma County is sharing $279,090 with the public defender, district attorney and probation departments.</p><p>The money is going to residential alcohol and drug treatment, resurfacing a recreation yard at the juvenile facility, investigative technology such as forensic computers and DVD recorders, lobby security systems, a digital X-ray machine for the coroner, crime scene equipment and graffiti removal.</p><p>Santa Rosa is receiving $425,212, which Chief Tom Schwedhelm said will be used for specialized training programs for officers and supervisors and to pay for sexual assault exams.</p><p>The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Department is receiving $151,511 for communications equipment and to replace computers that are four and five years old.</p><p>“It’s the kind of thing, if you are facing a tough budget situation, that is easily postponed for a year or two,” said Norm Thurston, the department’s administrative services manager. “Ultimately you are at a place that you have to replace it.”</p><p>Because of the county’s budget problems this year, however, Thurston said Mendocino County may have to consider modifying the grant application to use the money for salaries.</p><p>Other law enforcement agencies receiving money are Fort Bragg, $19,969; Lake County, $89,385; the City of Sonoma, $18,226; Ukiah, $46,119; Willits, $17,592; and Windsor, $41,206.</p><p>HOUSING ASSISTANCE</p><p>$1.67 million</p><p>The Sonoma County Community Development Commission is receiving $1.35 million and Santa Rosa is getting another $1 million, most of it to provide rent subsidies and short-term financial assistance for people on the verge of being homeless.</p><p>“The people that are running homeless shelters are starting to see the new homeless, people who are victims of the current recession,” said Mark Krug, manager of the county commission. “There tends to be a lag between the recession and when people become homeless. Maybe they can rely on friends and families, do couch surfing and hang in there for six to 12 months.”</p><p>Krug said the funds, targeted to people facing homelessness, provide rent subsidies for up to two years and could help with deposits and rent for people trying to get into a rental unit.</p><p>Petaluma is receiving $93,164 for housing assistance.</p><p>For emergency food and shelter programs, Lake County is receiving $29,583; Mendocino County $33,638; and Sonoma County $168,336.</p><p>HEALTH CARE</p><p>$1.4 million</p><p>The Southwest Community Health Center in Santa Rosa is receiving $344,767 that it will use to expand its services to children, said Naomi Fuchs, the center’s chief executive officer.</p><p>The money will be used to help pay for 11 positions, including a pediatrics physician, an obstetrics physician, a nurse specializing in pediatrics and support staff.</p><p>The stimulus money plus the Medi-Cal billings the positions generate will be enough to cover those 11 salaries for two years, Fuchs said.</p><p>“We have more than doubled the children we are seeing, and we deliver 1,000 babies a year,” Fuchs said. “We really wanted to do a lot of primary prevention, obesity prevention, wellness and getting the kids started off right with a healthy life.”</p><p>Other health programs receiving money include Petaluma Health Center, $277,024; Mendocino Coast Clinics in Fort Bragg, $184,881; Alliance Medical Center in Healdsburg, $237,443; Redwood Coast Medical in Gualala, $166,567; and Sonoma Valley Community Health Center in Sonoma, $188,652.</p><p>EDUCATIONAL SERVICES</p><p>$20 million</p><p>Schools are getting funds specifically to provide additional services for low-achieving students, low-income students and special education.</p><p>Ukiah Unified School District is receiving $2.3 million, which financial consultant Mike Casey said will go to staff development and summer intervention programs for low-achieving and low-income students and for special education programs.</p><p>Casey said the amount is a reflection of the large population of low-achieving and low-income students that are in Mendocino County.</p><p>Santa Rosa is receiving $4 million; Petaluma, $2 million; Cotati-Rohnert Park, $1.55 million; Sonoma Valley Unified, $1.26 million; Healdsburg Unified, $560,000; Alexander Valley Union Elementary, $52,000.</p><p>Cloverdale Unified, $362,000; Geyserville Unified, $72,000; Kenwood Elementary, $34,000; Mark West Union Elementary, $325,000; West Side Union Elementary, $43,000.</p><p>Anderson Valley Unified is receiving $167,000; Arena Union Elementary, $99,000; Point Arena Joint Union High, $62,000; Fort Bragg Unified, $607,000; Laytonville Unified, $191,000; Leggett Valley Unified, $50,000.</p><p>Manchester Union Elementary, $50,000; Mendocino Unified, $166,000; Potter Valley Community Unified, $114,000; Round Valley Unified, $201,000; Willits Unified, $691,000; Kelseyville Unified, $532,000.</p><p>Konocti Unified, $1.9 million; Lakeport Unified, $735,000; Lucerne Elementary, $80,000; Middletown Unified, $439,000; Upper Lake Union Elementary, $302,000; Upper Lake Union High, $111,000; Windsor Unified, $984,000.</p><p>EDUCATION STABILIZATION</p><p>$23.1 million</p><p>Schools also are receiving funds for “fiscal stabilization,” a significant amount of money with spending guidelines still being developed.</p><p>“Fiscal stabilization is the last piece coming out under the, ‘save jobs, keep the economy going’ banner,” said Doug Bower, assistant superintendent of business for Santa Rosa Schools. “It is not clear what the parameters are. It looks like it is pretty discretionary, but everything coming out of the government has some strings attached.”</p><p>Santa Rosa expects to receive $4.4 million for its elementary and high schools, which Bower said would save about 50 jobs.</p><p>“In some cases, they are jobs currently occupied and in others are positions to be eliminated that don’t have people attached to it yet, like the class size reduction arena,” Bower said. </p><p>Bower said it is one-time funding that has to be spent by 2011.</p><p>The Santa Rosa elementary is receiving $1.08 million; Santa Rosa high, $3.3 million; Petaluma high, $1.57 million; Cotati-Rohnert Park, $1.7 million; Windsor, $1.13 million; Sonoma County Office of Education is receiving $640,567.</p><p>Bellevue Elementary, $438,264; Bennett Valley, $234,445; Cinnabar, $54,215; Dunham, $48,705; Forestville, $32,781; Fort Ross, $12,778; Gravenstein, $137,956; Guerneville, $74,284.</p><p>Harmony, $24,447; Liberty, $49,543; Mark West, $321,396; Oak Grove, $15,072; Old Adobe, $455,409; Petaluma Elementary, $520,672; Piner-Olivet, $344,430; Kashia, $5,869; Rincon Valley, $712,532; Roseland, $373,256;</p><p>Sebastopol, $233,727; Twin Hills, $85,131; Two Rock, $44,166; Waugh, $231,944; West Side, $41,437; Wilmar, $56,331; Wright, $363,354; West Sonoma County high, $695,085; </p><p>Cloverdale, $396,175; Geyserville, $93,383; Sonoma Valley, $1.12 million; Healdsburg, $583,752.</p><p>Lake County Office of Education, $101,920; Lucerne, $69,421; Upper Lake elementary, $134,035; Upper Lake high, $129,350; Kelseyville, $474,857; Konocti, $803,840; Lakeport, $427,473; Middletown, $458,127.</p><p>Mendocino Office of Education, $249,601; Anderson Valley, $175,331; Fort Bragg, $504,354; Round Valley, $100,410; Ukiah, $1.43 million; Willits, $455,163; Potter Valley, $97,404; Laytonville, $131,019l Leggett $86,537.</p><p>ENERGY CONSERVATION</p><p>$4.1 million</p><p>Stimulus money also is being allocated for energy efficiency and conservation programs.</p><p>Sonoma County is receiving $1.9 million, which will be used for conservation projects on government buildings, according to spokesman Jim Leddy.</p><p>“It can be used for whatever the county feels is the best use, creating jobs and reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” Leddy said. “I think we have $40 million in identified need, but it is a lot of money, the idea is to best leverage it.”</p><p>The city of Santa Rosa is receiving $1.5 million in energy conservation grants, Petaluma $514,000 and Rohnert Park $164,000.</p><p>OTHER FUNDS</p><p>$7.2 million</p><p>The Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport is receiving $1 million towards the $1.7 million expansion of its terminal.</p><p>Mendocino County is receiving $1.2 million to repave the runway at the Little River Airport near Little River.</p><p>There is also up to $5 million available from the Environmental Protection Agency to help clean up hazardous waste at the Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine in Clearlake Oaks, which is a Superfund site.</p><p>You can reach Staff Writer Bob Norberg at 521-5206 or bob.norberg@pressdemocrat.com.</p>