District staff proposes cutting Title I schools from 14 to 10 and redirecting funds to teacher training

Cathy, a district staff member who oversees Title I programs, told the Washington County School District board at a Jan. 9 working session that she is proposing to reduce the district’s Title I schools from 14 to 10 and redirect the freed funds into a package of curriculum adoption, assessments and teacher professional development intended to raise student performance in high-poverty schools.

"It’s a funding source from the federal government to level the playing field between children growing up in poverty and children growing up in middle class or affluent homes," Cathy said, describing the purpose of Title I funding and why she was presenting a district plan to the board.

The proposal arrives after two distinct periods in the district’s recent Title I history: an earlier restructuring around 2010 that Cathy said produced substantial gains, and a more recent slide. Cathy told the board that in 2010 Title I funding grew from about $1.2 million to $4.5 million after new census data and…