DECATUR, Ga. -- Using federal funds, the DeKalb County School system is taking a retreat to Hollywood California. America’s Choice, a comprehensive school reform program, is hosting the conference.

The DeKalb County School System worked with America’s Choice back in 2001, but had to stop their educational programs with them because of budget issues. In August 2009 using federal stimulus money, the school district signed a one year deal with America’s Choice for $8 million.

In the contract, the Deputy Superintendent Barbara Talley said, “They must attend the National Conference that starts Thursday.” The district is using an estimated $382,000 in title one funds to pay the cost of the conference, which includes registration, food, travel and a stay at the Marriott Renaissance Hotel in Hollywood.

“Do you feel as if spending this amount of money to go to Hollywood is a good expenditure to have or could that money have been spent somewhere else in the school district?” CBS Atlanta News reporter Mike Paluska asked.

“The issue with title one funding is that it is categorical funds and there are restrictions on how to spend that money these schools that are part of the America’s Choice model this is part of their school improvement plan,” Talley said.

Title one funds are used for title one schools that help disadvantaged children.

“The money can be used for after school tutoring, books, staff development,” Talley said.

“That is a lot of money. For that amount of money I think it could be better spent here in the county for programming books materials and the school,” Barbara Hewett said.

Hewett has two grandchildren with special needs in title one schools.

“I would have wanted to know about what they were spending the money on before they spent that money for a retreat,” Hewett said.

“What concerns me is what is going to keep it going once the stimulus money runs out," Vice President for the Teacher’s Union for the Organization of DeKalb educators Lisa Morgan said. “Why didn’t they have members of America’s choice come to DeKalb County to perform the training on site as opposed to paying $382,000 to fly to Hollywood?”

The Deputy Superintendent wants to have America’s Choice in DeKalb Schools over the next five years. This first year is a pilot program. In 2001, the school system used America’s Choice for Mathematics and English Language Arts and said they had success, but had to stop because of funding cuts.

Forty underachieving schools will be using the program this year. All of the schools chosen to participate in the program all have not met adequate yearly progress or inconsistently meet AYP standards.