BISD receives $30M in Title 1 funding

BROWNSVILLE, Texas ( ValleyCentral ) — Over $30 million in Title 1 Funding was awarded to the Brownsville Independent School District.

Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (TX-34) hosted a news conference at Porter Early College High School to announce the federal funding for the district.

Jesus Chavez, Superintendent for BISD, said his district is not the only one to receive these Title 1 funds.

“The federal help is necessary,” Chavez said. “And of course, we want to continue it. There is talk out there about possibly eliminating the department of education, about cutting back on.”

Chavez said the district uses the funds to help aid enrichment programs for students who are falling behind in the curriculum.

“We do tutoring programs for them,” he said. “So this money is very useful to our district and of course, we value every dollar.”

Title 1 funding was founded in 1964 by Lyndon B. Johnson to help aid districts with predominantly economically impoverished areas.

As previously reported by ValleyCentral , Gonzalez said these monies are especially worth celebrating because it was a tough fight to have them awarded to the district.

“I had a lot of opposition on the other side. They were trying to cut Title 1 funding, but we were able to secure [if for] this school district, and we need to be proud of it, but we also need to be vigilant moving forward because this money has been available for decades now,” he said

According to Gonzalez, the proposal to cut Title 1 funding came out of a subcommittee, and it has never before happened, since 1965.

“Places like South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley are the most impacted by these cuts,” Gonzalez said.

He said board members cannot take this funding for granted and must advocate to keep it.

ValleyCentral asked Gonzalez what would happen if we lost Title 1 funding. He replied, that if we lose the funding computers, teachers and multiple programs would be affected.

“They would have to cut costs at every single level at every single district in the Rio Grande Valley,” Gonzalez said. “It would be horribly impactful.”

He said it was not something that used to be celebrated but now that it is under attack, it is something to celebrate.

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