Well, sort of. There are certain school related activities where it is permissible to access Community Development Block Grant funds. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), activities include, "all improvements and facilities that are either publicly owned or that are traditionally provided by the government, or owned by a nonprofit, and operated so as to be open to the general public. This would include firehouses, civil defense shelters, public schools, libraries, and housing shelters. Public improvements include streets, sidewalks, curbs and gutters, parks, playgrounds, water and sewer lines, flood and drainage improvements, parking lots, utility lines, and aesthetic amenities on public property such as trees, sculptures, pools of water and fountains, and other works of art. As well, under Public Services provisions, CDBG funds can be used for, "Child care, Health care, Job training, Recreation programs, Education programs, Public safety services, Fair housing activities, Services for senior citizens, Services for homeless persons, Drug abuse counseling and treatment, Energy conservation counseling and testing, Home buyer down payment assistance, and Emergency assistance payments (for example, to keep tenants from losing housing). Paying the cost of operating and maintaining that portion of a facility in which the service is located is also considered to fall under the basic eligibility category of Public Services, even if such costs are the only contributions made by CDBG for those services. (Emphasis added).
What does this mean?
It is likely that CDBG funds cannot be used for general school operating expenses, but perhaps some of the other activities and programs now funded under the school budget could be paid for with CDBG funds.
Visit http://www.northamptonma.gov/opd/cdbg/ for more information on how our city allocates its CDBG funds.
