Scott Olson / Getty ImagesSchool districts and education officials nationwide have been figuring out how to best spend the latest round of federal Covid relief funds, an unprecedented influx of aid for K-12 education meant to help schools rebound and stay open during the pandemic.
FutureEd's analysis found that summer learning was a top priority in the Northeast and South, while School districts in the West gave upgrades to ventilation, heating and air-conditioning systems priority. Hiring and increasing pay for teachers was of great importance in the Midwest. Ron Steiger, the district’s chief financial officer, said the key questions the school district asked itself to determine how to best spend the funds were: “How do we make sure that the impact of the pandemic doesn’t sit with us academically as a school district in perpetuity? How do you make that investment in a way that’s non-recurring so when the dollars run out, the expenses decline as well?
In Los Angeles, the spending plan reflects concerns over how to address learning loss and lost instructional time as the pandemic grinds on and upends learning in unpredictable ways. “CPS’ spending plan is based upon feedback from school leaders, teachers, students, parents and community stakeholders shared during the Budget Equity Forums held in February 2021,” the statement said.
“Ultimately, what matters most is how well they spend their money,” he said. “It’s great to be committed to a substantial tutoring infrastructure, but if they do it badly then the return on that investment will be much lower than it might otherwise be.”
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