A government-funded nursing scholarship in which the recipient must work in the territory for a number of years has been very successful, and the V.I. Board of Education would like to see something similar for education students, chairwoman Winona Hendricks said in budget hearings Friday.
The board has already awarded the $500,000 made available by the V.I. Legislature for nursing scholarships and students have already begun receiving payment, Hendricks said. The program’s success at drawing students to help fill the territory’s growing nurse shortage could be a template and the board would like the Legislature to consider more scholarship money for students pursuing teaching degrees, she said.
"The Department of Education is experiencing shortages in the areas of English, mathematics, foreign languages, physical education, special education and social studies," Hendricks said.
The V.I. Board of Education certifies teachers; creates and revises educational policies; operates the territorial scholarship and student loan program; and inspects school facilities.
The elected board is requesting a general fund appropriation of $2.8 million, a decrease of $156,000 or five percent from 2011’s appropriation of $2.9 million. Personnel salaries and benefits consume $758,000, or 36 percent. The request is about $104,000 more than Gov. John deJongh Jr.’s 2012 budget recommendation of $2.7 million. According to Hendricks, the increase would bring personnel costs in line with the recent austerity package passed by the Legislature that would cut most salaries by 8 percent. In previous budget hearings this summer, other board and agency heads said they anticipated the 8 percent cut to be in addition to cuts reflected in this year’s budget increase, rather than an offset to existing cuts, however.
The board is slated to receive $560,000 from student loan payments and $1 million in federal college access grant funding through the University of the Virgin Islands, bringing the grand total to $4.3 million. Additionally, $1 million from the general fund is to go to the scholarship fund to pay out an array of annual scholarships.
There were no votes during the information-gathering hearing.
