Feb 7, 2022, 4:16 PM
(From Chalkbeat) While some districts have laid out detailed plans for how they intend to use federal COVID relief funds, others are much more vague, according to Marguerite Roza, director of the Edunomics Lab, a school finance group. Roza found that, "most lack clear details, required by the federal government, about how the district will address the particular needs of students disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.” What's more, federal tracking for how much COVID relief money has been spent currently reflect a long data lag, and the data hasn’t been updated at all since September 2021. More tracking and research is needed to understand how the federal money is being budgeted and its impact on students.
(From NBC) So how exactly are schools spending the past two years of COVID relief funds? An NBC News analysis of the spending plans of four of the five largest school districts, and interviews with education experts, found that priorities for the federal aid included increasing instructional time through tutoring; summer school and after-school and enrichment programs. More than half also planned to use the federal aid to improve school climate systems, with heating, ventilation and air conditioning a top-three priority in every region. School districts have until late 2024 to spend the money.
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