Tag: influx

Constitution colleges see inflow of federal cash

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Published: 08/15/2021 16:00:11

A Penacook charter school plans to open a second campus in the Monadnock region after receiving funding from the State Department of Education’s charter school funding competition.

CSI Charter School in Penacook has received a replication grant of $ 339,552 and plans to use it to open a second school in southwest New Hampshire. CSI, which has been in operation since 2007, serves high school students over the age of 17 who are in need of a nontraditional academic environment. Although plans are still in the early stages, co-administrator James Gorman said a second school will provide more opportunities for students who need flexible learning, whether for health, work or parental reasons.

“We would like to expand the program and see the need for it,” said Gorman on Thursday. “We don’t see anything comparable in the southwest of the state and want to expand into this area and offer this opportunity for young men and women.”

CSI is one of seven New Hampshire charter schools that received grants to fund their operations in the first round of the state charter school sponsorship competition this month.

The grants are awarded by the New Hampshire Department of Education to help open new charter schools and expand existing charter schools. Funding comes from a $ 46 million state grant Receive by the federal government in 2019, which aims to increase the number of charter schools in the country over a five-year period.

“We are delighted to be able to award these scholarships for these innovative public education programs,” said Education Officer Frank Edelblut. “Expanding a quality public education program in our state serves our students and families well.”

principal applied for the grants in June and July, and the country received applications from 14 organizations, according to Edelblut.

The largest grants – all over $ 1 million – are start-up grants for the new schools: Northeast Woodlands in Conway, which opened in 2020; Spark Academy in Manchester, which opened in 2019; Gathering Waters in Keene, opening this fall; and Heartwood, which will open in Coös County in 2022. Gathering Waters will receive an additional $ 300,000 for meeting priorities set by the department, such as opening schools in underserved areas or showcasing unique and innovative educational programs that are not widely available in the state.

In Manchester, the Founders Academy and MicroSociety Charter School have both received approximately $ 600,000 in expansion grants, which provide schools with funds to expand enrollment, grade levels, and the educational program.

The Department of Education plans to provide a second round of grants for charter schools in late fall.

Aviation trade faces problem that inflow of federal grant cash will not have the ability to clear up, professional says

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The grants aim to keep airport workers busy, get construction projects off the ground and help airports recover from a pandemic that is severely dampening air traffic. Airports can also use the money to grant rent relief for retail and concession companies in terminals.

Dan Akins, an aviation economist at consultancy Flightpath Economics, said MSP’s cut in grant money was more or less proportional to its share of air travel. He also said total funding might seem like much right now, but it’s based on March estimates.

“It seems big now because I think back then the light at the end of the tunnel was so small that it was hard to know when this was going to end,” Akins said. “And when it arrives it seems like we need less and less of it, but that is the price of a lengthy process to distribute money to airports and other commercial interests that have suffered during the pandemic.”

But Akins said the aviation industry’s biggest problem right now isn’t money – it is Shortage of staff.

“There aren’t enough people. There aren’t enough planes moving,” Akins said. “Demand has dropped so much that in the past few weeks you’ve seen Delta struggling, Americans struggling, Southwest struggling to keep their schedules because there isn’t enough manpower to provide the talent that they need Things to get an airplane from A to B. “

He said some airlines may have been too aggressive in firing highly specialized personnel like pilots and it will take a long time to regain that talent.

“Maybe they let too many pilots go with early retirement packages, as I think, as is the case with Delta, which seemed in a crisis when all airlines went over the waterfall,” Akins said. “‘Let’s get rid of the most expensive senior pilots and this will save us.” That was real short-term thinking. “

In other cases, Akins said, airlines are pulling managers off their officers and allowing them to get into day-to-day operations.

Right now, as airlines have been caught unprepared for a sudden surge in demand for air travel, air fares are rising, Akins said. And the generous refund policies that some companies put in place during the pandemic could also be dropped.