Columnist Susan Snyder: Grant for $2.5 million? Bully!

Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2002 | 8:28 a.m.

The aggravating thing about government grants is finding out there are huge amounts of money available, but never enough for the things we really need.

This is not about what's a good idea, or what would be nice to have or what could help solve a real problem. It's about triage -- taking care of whatever is bleeding worst, first.

So pardon me for being a bully and withholding applause for news that Nevada snared a $2.5 million federal grant to promote character development in the public schools.

The grant, obtained jointly by the state Office of the Attorney General and the Nevada Department of Education, will be used to create the Nevada Character Education Program. It is the result of a partnership called the Bully Free for Me! Task Force, according to an attorney general's news release.

This is not intended to belittle the efforts of workers in the school districts of Clark and Douglas counties, the attorney general and education department offices and the nonprofit group WestEd. The research, collaboration and writing necessary to obtain such a large grant is staggering, and Nevada is fortunate to have people with such drive and talent.

But even the extra $22 million Nevada also is to receive from President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act won't fill our gaping education holes.

Overall, Clark County School District is still $2.7 million short.

Of our valley's 172 elementary schools, 104 qualify for Title I, a program targeting schools with the highest percentage of children who qualify for free breakfasts and lunches.

The $6 million Clark County will get from the $22 million federal boost is enough to help only 41 of those impoverished schools, leaving behind the other 63.

Problems at such schools don't stop with empty tummies. They extend far into the classrooms, where there aren't enough supplies, books or teachers to go around. One of the schools will be using $270,000 of the money to pay for a literacy program.

Meanwhile, parents of Clark County middle school students are trying to raise $300,000 to keep sports programs afloat -- programs thrust aside when the district pared $12.6 million from its budget earlier this year.

Las Vegas City Councilman Larry Brown, who has one child just starting sixth grade and one who just finished eighth, says such programs build more than athletes. They can instill pride, spirit and a sense of community in an entire student body.

"It seems we're all too often robbing Peter to pay Paul, and what needs to be done is to prioritize the problems," Brown said.

The $2.5 million grant for character development will be spread over four school years and will be used to administer pilot programs in schools in Clark and Douglas counties, adding schools and grades each year, said Leonard Beckam, of WestEd, one of the Bully Free for Me! Task Force partners.

Hopefully, this program will help diffuse the kind of bullying that can escalate into a Columbine.

It's a crying shame we can't first get enough money to make sure we've put the brakes on anger and meanness that arise in children who are simply so hungry or frustrated that they can't read, or whose self-image could be vastly improved by sports or music.