Virginia’s stimulus portion will fund a range of projects

By Olympia Meola

Published: March 5, 2009

From school funding, to city buses, to health care for the homeless, traces are appearing of where federal stimulus aid will trickle in to Virginia.

Overall, the state is expected to get $4.8 billion from the stimulus, according to a state budget summary provided to Virginia lawmakers. Legislators used about $1.5 billion to help ease a $3.7 billion shortfall in the two-year, $77 billion budget.

Virginia school districts will receive $365 million of the $1.5 billion in stimulus funds for direct aid to K-12 education in fiscal 2010. Those funds, which the state is allocating through its own funding formula, will help localities counter deep proposed cuts.

For example, Dinwiddie County schools, facing a budget shortfall of $2.6 million, will get an estimated $1.89 million in stimulus funds for direct aid to public education, according to the state budget summary.

Dinwiddie Superintendent Charles Maranzano Jr., awaiting further details, spoke cautiously yesterday. But he said stimulus funds are dollars well spent if they prevent drastic cuts.

"We can breathe a sigh of relief if we don't have to cut 60 positions," Maranzano said.

School districts also are expected to get enhanced funding for federal programs, such as Title 1.

On Monday, Sens. Mark R. Warner and Jim Webb announced that Virginia is getting $5.76 million from the federal stimulus package for five health clinics, including two in Richmond: the Daily Planet and Vernon J. Harris East End Community Health Center.

And yesterday, the GRTC Transit System said it expects to receive about $11 million in stimulus funds to complete the design of a downtown transfer center and to buy new paratransit vans.

GRTC says it plans to use about $9 million of the $11 million to complete design and engineering work for the transfer center in the train shed behind Main Street Station in Shockoe Bottom. Construction is expected to begin in spring 2010.

"The purpose of the transfer center is to further enhance GRTC's services by creating a centrally located, user-friendly and accessible facility for our passengers, reduce private-vehicle traffic on the streets of downtown, contribute to the economic growth of downtown, and help sustain the environmental benefit to the community by reducing the amount of carbon emissions released into the air we breathe," said John M. Lewis, chief executive officer of GRTC.

The remaining $2 million is to be used to buy 38 replacement paratransit vans used to aid disabled passengers.

The Daily Planet, which provides services to the homeless population or those at risk of homelessness, expects to get about $700,000 for a new service location.

The organization had been applying for grant money to no avail when word came down that it would receive stimulus funding, said Maureen Neal, director of development and external affairs for the Daily Planet. Its board plans to meet this week to begin planning for the new project and its needs, including staff.

"In that regard, it is creating jobs in addition to providing the necessary health care to people that have lost their jobs or have lost their benefits," she said.

With piling job losses and the oft-accompanying loss of health insurance, the organization is seeing about 44 new patients a month, Neal said. The organization last year saw about 5,500 individuals over about 20,000 patient visits.

In tough times, some people "have to decide between health and paying rent," Neal said. "We want to keep them in the home."

On Tuesday, President Barack Obama announced the release of $27 billion nationally in stimulus funds for infrastructure, which will include $694 million to maintain existing Virginia roads and bridges. The Virginia aid is not yet targeted specifically.