City, BX schools might have to close the book on $30 million in grant money

The federal government is demanding back millions in grant money given to some of the poorest schools in the Bronx and the city.The schools received $30 million as part of a $118 million grant intended

News 12 Staff

Nov 7, 2006, 6:03 PM

Updated 6,539 days ago

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The federal government is demanding back millions in grant money given to some of the poorest schools in the Bronx and the city.The schools received $30 million as part of a $118 million grant intended for the Reading First program. Instead, the money went to nine high poverty school districts in the state. The government says since it wasn't applied properly, it needs to be returned.Education officials in New York said they targeted kids in poverty based on advice from consultants, federal officials and program guidelines. The federal government says it fell short of the right standards. An audit revealed the state could not provide records to show how it evaluated the different schools competing for money. Reading First is a $1 billion effort by President Bush focusing on early reading efforts in classrooms.