Local school districts waiting for millions in COVID-19 money to help students
Apr. 19—Local school districts will receive tens of millions of dollars to help them with efforts to get students back on track after the year of the pandemic.
Janesville is projected to receive more than $27 million in federal aid, according to a state Legislative Fiscal Bureau analysis.
The money is allocated based on federals estimates of family income, so while Janesville gets more than $2,915 per student, Milton gets $892 per student.
The figures are not final. Milton schools Superintendent Rich Dahman noted some aid will depend on how long students learned in classrooms in the past year, a requirement imposed by the state Legislature, and those figures have not yet been finalized.
Janesville school officials are waiting for more specific rules on how they can use the money before making decisions, said district spokesman Patrick Gasper in an email.
While they wait, district officials are discussing options and asking principals for their input, Gasper wrote.
The money is intended to help schools help their students overcome learning delays.
Early studies have pointed to delays in children's progress in learning to read, with minority children showing the worst effects, for example.
Most of the money is coming through three pieces of legislation passed over the past year called Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, known widely in school circles as ESSER I, II and III.
The money must help schools pay costs "arising from the coronavirus pandemic, including reopening schools safely, sustaining their safe operation and addressing students' social, emotional, mental health, and academic needs resulting from the pandemic," according to a U.S. Department of Education memo that focused on ESSER III.
Part of the ESSER III funding targets students who have suffered disproportionately from the pandemic, including children living in poverty, those from racial or ethnic minorities and those who have disabilities, among others.
Milton used its ESSER I money for COVID-19 prevention, such as masks, shields, disinfectant and offering school lunches even when students were staying home to learn.
As for the rest of the money, principals are developing ideas with staff based on school-achievement data, Dahman said, and decisions on those ideas will come in coming weeks.
For sure, summer school will include offerings to "jump-start learning" when students return in the fall, Dahman said.
Money might also be used to test school air quality and make improvements if testing shows problems, Dahman said.
Most of the money will be used to meet students' social, academic and emotional needs arising from the pandemic," Dahman said.
Some have suggested the pandemic has led to mental-health problems that students will bring with them to school next fall.
"A major focus of ours is going to be both helping students be ready for the start of the school year and also ensuring we have a strong instructional focus ready for students when they come back in fall," Dahman said.
The money might even be used for short-term hires who would help students adjust, Dahman said.
The Janesville district "will continue to find ways to use all available funding to deliver on our promises—that students graduate well prepared for college, career, and life—and certainly reading proficiency/literacy are major components of that," Gasper wrote.
The money can't be used to lower the tax levy and must supplement the budget, not take the place of local funding of annually recurring costs, Gasper noted.
"We intend to use the funds emphasizing one-time costs that will have a positive impact student achievement/engagement/success," Gasper wrote.
"Although there may appear to be a wide range of allowable expenses, each expense must be approved via an application to spend that is submitted to the DPI (state Department of Public Instruction)."
"Addressing learning loss due to the pandemic is a top priority," Gasper wrote, but he said determining how to do that will take time.
