President Donald J. Trump signed the COVID-19 Stimulus bill into law on Friday, March 27.
According to a release from Marshall Public Schools’ Superintendent Dr. Carol Maher, there is extra funding to districts through Title 1 (Financial Assistance For The Education Of Children Of Low-Income Families). The portions of the law pertaining to education state:
1. Funds to districts can be used for coronavirus-response activities- such as planning for and coordinating during longterm school closures; purchasing educational technology to support online learning for all students served by the local educational agency; building sanitation, summer learning programs and mental-health services; and additional activities authorized by federal elementary and secondary education laws.
2. Each state will receive a share of $3 billion for governors to allocate at their discretion for emergency-support grants to local educational agencies and institutions of higher education that have been most significantly impacted by the coronavirus. Funds will be allocated based on following formula:
— 60 percent of the funds are distributed based on the relative number of 5- to 24-year-olds in the state; and
— 40 percent of the funds are distributed based on the relative number of kids younger than 21.
The Central Office administrators are meeting Monday, March 30, to discuss this, among other issues and challenges. At this point, these federal payments are one-time funding and cannot be used for recurring expenses.
Dr. Maher says the district does not have guidance, requirements or projected amounts from DESE yet, so it will be keeping a close eye on those developments. The district will release that information as soon as it becomes available.