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September 29, 2007
Public Schools to receive annual funding from the Virgin Islands Lottery for Fiscal Year 2007 Gov. John deJongh said this weekend the territory’s public schools will soon each receive their annual disbursements from the Virgin Islands Lottery. "I am pleased that each of our 34 schools will receive equal amounts of $40,000 from the VI Lottery’s Education Fund for fiscal year 2007. The funds, which total $1.4 million, are made available to the Department of Education each year and can be used for a variety of purposes from materials and supplies to equipment, supplemental books, professional development and substitute teachers," deJongh said. According to Acting Education Commissioner Dr. Lynn Spampinato, all of the checks have been processed by the Department of Finance and are at the Department of Education for distribution. "Also, I am pleased to say that within a short period of time, the territory’s schools public schools will also receive similar funding totaling $2.9 million for Fiscal Year 2008. These monies will also be distributed to the school and will allow the district superintendents to decide on funding other programs and initiatives," Spampinato said. The Education Department is working toward ensuring that the necessary fiscal personnel are available in the districts to oversee the management of these funds and all other school funding. Now in its four year of existence, the release of the monies each fiscal year is dependent on the cash flow at the Virgin Islands Lottery. "The monies from the VI Lottery will go a long way in assisting our schools with taking care of their day to day operations and immediate needs," said Assistant Commissioner Donna Frett-Gregory, who oversees the department’s fiscal operations. The receipt of these monies put the schools in a very good place fiscally and will no doubt help the administrators in implementing initiatives and continuing to develop many of their existing programs. |
