MASSENA — With the coming school year, the Massena Central School District will institute new programs to improve the education received within its walls.

The state Education Department has given the district an additional $1.4 million to invest in new programs and resources to increase academic success. The Board of Education will have a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. today in the high school library to answer questions and receive comments from residents about its plan for the money.

"That's a lot of coin," board member William B. Sommerfield said. "It seems to be something very carefully thought out. A lot of people are going to benefit from it."

Massena is one of 39 school districts to receive Contract for Excellence money, according to the state Education Department Web site. The money, which comes as a result of the No Child Left Behind Act, must be spent on reducing class sizes; increasing the amount of time spent on specific tasks; improving teacher and principal quality; restructuring middle and high schools, and developing daylong prekindergarten and kindergarten programs or experimental programs.

The district will spend its additional state aid in every school. Each will receive funds to concentrate on a few of the listed categories.

The high school will expand an alternative education program, which includes job training, for 15 additional students and spend more time on certain tasks, including after-school programs and additional English programs. It will improve principal/teacher quality by sending educators to conferences to teach them more skills and restructure the special education program. It will receive approximately $291,000 of the $1.4 million.

Each of the three elementary schools will continue to provide a summer learning experience for children who volunteer for supplemental education. They also will each develop a pre-kindergarten program and work to improve teacher/principal quality. Madison Elementary will receive a third sixth-grade teacher and approximately $327,000. Jefferson and Nightengale each will be given $217,000.

J.W. Leary Middle School is slated to receive $380,000, as the state has determined it is the school that needs the most improvement. For the second year in a row, it has been categorized as a "school in need of improvement." If the state determines it has not made enough progress at the end of the coming academic year, it will be designated a "school in need of corrective action." If given that label, it may have to replace some staff, overhaul its curriculum or even extend the school day.

To avoid such a designation, the middle school will spend its additional funds on tutoring and student support programs, developing an alternative education program for at-risk students and improving the quality of teachers. It also is looking to hire a new principal after its former principal, Roger B. Clough, was promoted to interim superintendent.

The district already has adopted these programs and determined how the extra money will be spent, though the law says districts must seek community input before that can happen.

The state took longer than it had intended to approve the contracts, once they had been signed and sent back to Albany from the school districts. Because of that, the districts had to rush to develop and approve individual programs, said Timothy G. Kremer, executive director of the New York State School Boards Association.

"I don't want to sound dismissive — these are public schools and the public should have a say," Mr. Kremer said. "But limited time and limited choices probably made for an oversight."

In the future, Mr. Kremer says, the Board of Regents, which oversees the Contracts for Excellence, will ensure that there is adequate time for school boards to hear ideas from the community about how money should be spent.

The district has been asking for input since the beginning of the month, but according to Judy Leary, director of curriculum, no comments have been received.

"We've never done a public hearing like this," she said. "What kind of response we'll get, I don't know. After the presentation, I wouldn't be surprised if we got questions — more questions than comments."