Ten teaching positions have been restored throughout the Haverhill Public Schools, including six in the heavily cut subjects of elementary and middle school art, music and physical education.
Interim Superintendent James Scully said these "11th hour" additions were made possible by using money from several 2010 budget accounts.
"This puts us in good shape for September," he said. Schools open on Wednesday, Sept. 8.
The restorations bring the so-called encore subjects up to three teachers per discipline. Last year, art, music and physical education in the elementary and middle school levels were staffed with five teachers each.
Scully said two full-time instructors will be restored at the high school, though subject matter has not been determined.
Also, a full-time and a-part time English Language Learner teacher position and a part-time ELL supervisor position have been saved.
Haverhill is keeping its fingers crossed that more money — $2 million or more — is on its way to the schools thanks to decisions made in the nation's capital.
On Tuesday, Haverhill celebrated the news that Massachusetts is one of 10 states named as a winner in President Barack Obama's Race to the Top education funding program.
Haverhill teachers union president Marc Harvey said Haverhill's share is likely to be about $1 million.
The city stands to gain another $1.1 million from the Education Jobs Fund passed by Congress earlier this month, Harvey estimated.
Harvey said the federal Education Jobs Fund requires that all the money the district receives goes directly into creating and maintaining teacher positions and funding. Districts can't set aside more than 2 percent of the total for administrative positions nor can they use the money to create "rainy day" accounts.
"You actually have to use it on people who have contact with children," said Harvey. "It's a nice safety net to have to hire back the staff you need."
The money was approved for the 2011 fiscal year only. Currently, there are no plans for the bill to renew for fiscal year 2012.
The federal funding will be distributed through Gov. Deval Patrick's office. The governor has until Sept. 5 to make the payments and Harvey said he would expect Haverhill to see the money sometime in October.
Besides the obvious benefit of keeping more teachers on staff, Harvey said the money potentially could be budgeted to cover the costs for Haverhill High's after school clubs and activities as these costs fall under the bill's terminology umbrella of funding teacher positions.
"It sounds like a no-brainer to me," said Harvey.
Scully noted that while the official numbers for what Haverhill may receive haven't come to his desk yet, any money Haverhill might receive won't be used for creating unstable positions or hiring back a teacher for a single year.
"I don't want people to think of this money as a feedbag," he said. "I want to make sure we have some reasonable and sensible protocol in place. We want to spend it wisely."
With high school club budgets slashed by $25,000 for the coming year, school officials had suggested proposing user fees or other fundraising measures for clubs to cover club expenses and teacher stipends. Many advisers positions provide a stipend contract which stipulates that a teacher can earn up to a certain amount, determined by the number of hours a teacher is expected to assist a given club, but not exceed it. Thus, some advisor positions could potentially earn less if not enough money was raised. Though some clubs may require a method of self funding, others operate on a volunteer basis.
Last year, clubs at the high school were budgeted $44,000.
On Tuesday, Patrick announced that Massachusetts would receive approximately $250 million from the Race to the Top competition. Massachusetts was shut out of the program last year.
"This is great news", said Mayor James Fiorentini at a news conference Tuesday afternoon. "It certainly looks good that the city of Haverhill is going to get some extra money. It's going to be a big improvement to our system."
Scully said the money would be a relief for the district, but he cautioned that its uses would be examined carefully.
"We don't want to create false expectations," he said. "You don't want to commit to things you can't live on."
Thee are strings attached to the Race to the Top award, Scully said.
Half of the money would be given to the district to spend as it sees fit. The state would control the remainder, ensuring that it's spent on developing teachers, principals and the under-performing schools of the district.
"We're looking to see where those weaknesses are," said Scully.
The Race to the Top program was designed to close the so-called achievement gap between schools that are performing up to expectations and those that are not. Often, lower-performing schools are also those in financial need.
Fiorentini thanked Harvey, saying the teachers union had to sign the city's application for its share of the funding. Many districts throughout the state were ineligible because their unions didn't agree to the program's requirements.
