Stimulus funds to help homeless kids
| Thursday, Jul 02 2009 06:50 PM
Last Updated Thursday, Jul 02 2009 06:50 PM
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Contact information for Bakersfield City School District assistance:
Suzanne Guest, 631-4910
www.bcsd.com/studentservices/services
The Bakersfield City School District will get an extra $44,350 in federal stimulus funds to serve homeless students, the state announced Thursday.
Last year the number of students in the district who were classified as homeless under the McKinney-Vento Act increased to about 550, a 7 percent increase.
The extra money will bolster what the district already receives from the federal and state level.
It will go to purchase extra hygiene kits for students and support the district's referrals and transportation for extra food, clothing, and emergency shelter, as well as medical and health connections, said Randall Ranes, who oversees the district's support services department.
The homeless rise last year doesn't constitute a trend yet, Ranes said, unless there is another bump next year.
California hasn't seen nearly the spike in homeless students as in other states, he said.
"The general purpose of all these laws and funding is to make sure that kids go to school and they have continuity in their school placement," Ranes said.
In other words, a student learns more if they get to stay at the same school for at least a year -- the goal of homeless student support programs run by schools.
