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GREENSBORO — Nearly half of Guilford County schools will reach high-poverty levels this fall, making them eligible for major federal funding, according to school district officials.

The school district announced Monday that 50 schools — four more than this school year — will have enough students receiving a free or reduced-price lunch to meet thresholds for additional federal funding through the Title I program. Five schools will be added to the list; one, Pruette SCALE Academy, will drop off.

Title I is part of the No Child Left Behind law that gives additional funding to high-poverty schools but also enacts sanctions on those schools if they fail to meet testing goals.

The Title I designation can mean hundreds of thousands of dollars more for a school. That money can be used to hire more teachers, provide additional training and increase parent skill-building opportunities, among other things.

As of February, 53 percent of students qualify for a free or reduced-price lunch. That’s an increase of about 6 percent over 2007.

Despite the increase in poverty, district officials say, the additional funding will be a benefit for schools.

“There’s a positive local impact because these schools will now have additional funding to determine the best strategies to increase student achievement,” said Kelly Hales, the school district’s director of Title I.

 If Title I schools fail to meet their testing goals, they can face sanctions that can include allowing families to move their children to another school within the district.

Irving Park Elementary in Greensboro has been one of these “opt-in” schools for several years, but it too will join the list of Title I schools this fall.

Melissa Nixon, principal of Irving Park, said her school has teetered on the poverty threshold for several years. Finally being eligible for the additional money will be a welcome change. “Now, we’ll be able to have additional resources those other schools had access to,” she said.

Students living in subsidized housing attend the school. But Nixon has seen an increase in the number of parents who have recently been laid off or had a pay cut.

“There are kids this year I’ve seen receiving free or reduced lunch that you hadn’t in years prior,” she said.

Irving Park could get about $300,000 in Title I funding this fall, Nixon said.

She hopes to hire several teachers to help improve reading and math scores, among other things. She believes the school will avoid sanctions.

But just as easily as schools make the list, they can be taken off. Hales said she advises principals to be careful how they use the money because it can be fleeting.

No Child Left Behind requires that any school where 75 percent of students receive a free or reduced-price lunch be a Title I school, but school districts can lower that threshold to allow more schools into the program.

Last year during its budget discussions, the school board debated lowering those thresholds, hoping the additional funding might offset a budget shortfall. The board abandoned the idea, fearing it would lead to more schools under sanction.

It isn’t clear how much longer this program will exist. The Obama administration is in the process of a major overhaul of No Child Left Behind.

Contact J. Brian Ewing at 373-7351 or brian.ewing@news-record.com