Somerville schools use grants to fill in budget gaps

By Danielle Dreilinger, Globe Correspondent

In this lousy economy, Somerville school district grant writers are racing like hamsters on a wheel.

Halfway through the academic year, school staff already have written more grant applications than they did in the entire previous cycle: about 30 compared to 21.

And that’s with increased selectivity. ‘‘We’re being very judicious,’’ said spokeswoman Gretchen Kinder. ‘‘A grant worth $500 may not be worth it.’’

That said, individual teachers recently received a number of small grants from the Boston University Consortium that will make a difference, Kinder said. That included $677.69 for chemistry materials and $1,060 to present a professional performance of ‘‘Romeo and Juliet’’ to the ninth grade.

A larger award of nearly $40,000 focused on literacy training for teachers. Looking at the overall picture, ‘‘We’re stretched financially but we’re doing OK,’’ Kinder said, in part because federal stimulus funds filled gaps in core funding. However, there have been significant cuts in money for early childhood education.

Kinder emphasized that the district used grants to try new programs, not fund essentials. Looking forward, she hoped to get $40,000 from the state Department of Education for the vocational program so students can learn to repair solar panels.

As the district plans for the future, so can parents: The 2010-11 school calendar is now available at somerville.k12.ma.us/calendar. School starts Sept. 2 for all grades except kindergarten, which starts Sept. 8.