Illinois has already distributed billions of dollars in the Federal COVID-19 Relief Fund for Education to school districts. The pandemic plunge should be used to help students who are late, rather than creating a program that requires new taxes.
Approximately $ 7.9 billion has flowed to schools in Illinois from the Federal Pandemic Relief Program, but the funds are temporary and should not be used to initiate a permanent program that the school district cannot continue.
Refurbishing the football field does not help students recover from the achievement gaps facilitated by pandemics and distance learning. It was possible to hire a tutor to help students catch up.
Funding gives the school an opportunity, and deadlines are far enough for the school district to consider the wisest ways to help students make up for what the pandemic has removed.
Primary and junior high school emergency relief is part of three major COVID-19 relief packages approved by Congress and is commonly referred to as ESSER I, II, or III. The fund was designed to address the challenges faced by schools as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Funds can be allocated to the purposes specified by existing federal education laws to meet the needs of low-income and underserved students. This includes providing dietary and mental health services, summer programs, and others focused on helping schools recover from the coronavirus pandemic and mitigate their impact on public health. Many activities are included.
Illinois State Board of Education Funding
The Illinois State Board of Education has a relief fund that includes mental health and welfare, virtual coaching for new teachers, educator professional development, and access to learning through laptop and internet connection investments for all students. We prioritized four areas of immediate focus. State boards such as ISBE can make up to 10% of each ESSER fund available at the state level. The remaining 90% will be allocated directly to the school under the current federal funding formula. ISBE may hold half of 1% to use for management costs.
The Illinois Plan to use funds from ESSER III was approved by the US Department of Education on August 27, 2021. The plan shows how ISBE “prioritizes funding to safely resume and maintain safe reopening and safe operation of schools and to equitably expand opportunities. It is most needed. For students, especially those most affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic. “
ISBE plans to use approximately $ 470 million in ESSER III funding for the following specific purposes:
- $ 357 Million to Address the Academic Impact of Lost Education Time and Invest in Summer Learning and Expanded After-School Programs
- $ 52 Million to Eliminate the Digital Divide
- $ 50 Million to Support the Social, Emotional, and Mental Health Needs of Students and Educators
- $ 10 Million in Staffing to Support Student Needs
Given that the expiry date of funds will be extended from September 2022 to September 2024, the school district will allocate funds to specific issues, especially if there is no clear or immediate priority for the funds. You need to take the time to do that. Expiration dates for funds eliminate the need to spend money immediately.
Despite its relatively widespread use and many opportunities to use them to enhance school services and resources, Anna-Jonesboro Community High School initially funded nearly half of the $ 1.9 million relief fund from ESSER III. I tried to assign it to repair the lawn and trucks of a soccer field. .. The plan was rejected by the ISBE and the school district said, “To balance the school budget, improve water bottle fillers, and pay for education programs, to pay most of the school’s non-certified employees for one year 70. We have decided to consider using $ 10,000 in funding for the next two years. “
Schools in Illinois are drawing much of their money from property taxes, which have been stable throughout the pandemic. As a result of stable funding and additional federal relief funding, schools such as the Waukigan Community Unit School District 60 could actually spend millions of dollars over the previous year. In short, we were able to not only fill the budget gap, but also fund the new program. ..
Therefore, it is even more important for schools to not only make up for budget shortages, but also to use their funds responsibly. The Waukigan district is using some of the funding for tutoring for students who are forced to quarantine and virtual learn for the next school year. The district also used the funds to improve the air quality of the school, as improving safety was a priority of the relief fund. The district also monitors ESSER spending and conducts reviews every six months to ensure that it does not overuse the funds it plans to receive. What is important to the school is that this is a one-time fund and is not reliable in the future for the new programs, services, or management generated through ESSER funding.
Governor Emergency Education Relief Fund
In addition to ESSER funding, Illinois also received federal funding for education under the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund. Illinois received over $ 108.5 million from the CARES Act in its fund and an additional $ 48 million from CRRSA or GEER II funding. GEER I funds were to be allocated to educational institutions throughout the state at the discretion of the Governor. “The Governor has broad discretion in deciding which entities in the state will receive GEER funding,” the federal guidance on GEER financing states. In addition, the Governor states that he can choose to allocate funds between schools from kindergarten to high school and related or higher education institutions at a rate that the Governor deems appropriate.
Governor JB Pritzker announced the distribution of GEER I funds on July 14, 2020. Pritzker has announced $ 10 million to support its state-wide early childhood program. An additional $ 50 million will be donated to schools from kindergarten to high school for three purposes: eliminating digital divides, training for educators and parents, and social and emotional support for students. This figure is $ 32.5 million for purchasing devices such as laptops for students, $ 7.5 million for internet hotspots to improve connectivity access, and can be understood by both educators and families using new learning technologies. It consists of $ 7.5 million and $ 2.5 million in training to help you. Establish an organization in ISBE to support students and their families and focus on improving health and safety, called the Student Care Department.
Almost half of GEER I’s funding, about $ 49 million, will be spent on higher education and $ 46 million will be directly funded by the university to help students overcome the obstacles caused by the pandemic. Specific uses for these direct funds include access to laptops, mentoring, books, childcare and transportation.
An additional $ 3 million in GEERI funding is “focused on enrolling and retaining undervalued first-generation high-demand students in Illinois’ public and non-profit, independent four-year higher education institutions. Used to support the initiative. As of February 2021, approximately $ 48 million in GEER II funding is still in the planning stages and has not yet been designated for expenditure. Overall, Illinois is in the state of Illinois. Pritzker has received more than $ 156 million in education relief funds designated for allocation to the entire Illinois educational institution.
What should the money be used for?
Given the large amount of cash injections into education in Illinois and elsewhere, it is important for schools to spend their money responsibly. One recommendation for getting the most out of your money is to avoid creating new programs, adding staff, and buying new equipment that requires money long after these temporary federal dollars expire. is. Schools struggling with budgets before and during the pandemic will continue to struggle to use temporary federal funding to create new costs for themselves.
The main use of these funds is to address learning losses due to pandemics. The American Rescue Planning Act requires that 20% of the money given to the school district and 5% of the money given to the state school board be used to deal with learning losses.
Preliminary reports from the Illinois Preparatory Assessment reveal a serious struggle between Illinois students and young students suffering from the most rapid decline, regardless of district. According to state-wide data, 2021 will have about 17% fewer students meeting English standards compared to 2019. Similarly, about 18% fewer students meet grade-level math standards. Third grade scores dropped by 8% in English and nearly 10% in math. This is equivalent to 22% less third graders meeting English grade level standards and 24% less third graders meeting math standards. According to the SAT score, the number of 11th graders who achieved English proficiency decreased by nearly 8% and math proficiency decreased by 14%.
With billions of dollars in aid filtering to Illinois school districts and early data showing the significant damage pandemics have done to Illinois students, to correct learning losses and improve student performance , All options should be considered. One of those options is school district integration.
According to the data, the integration will pay off by increasing the resources available for teaching, such as hiring additional teachers to reduce the size of the class and raising teacher salaries to attract better talent. Can be enhanced. Illinois spends less efficiently on administrative education than larger states because there are too many school districts and too few students. Schools in Illinois also outperform neighboring countries and outperform. The administrative bloat has made it less expensive to enter the classroom to benefit students and improve educational outcomes. Allowing district integration provides an opportunity to maximize federal relief and increase the positive impact that funding can have on student outcomes.
All dollars in federal education relief funds should be used primarily to help students recover from the learning losses suffered by the pandemic. Allowing students to run out of money when they run out of surplus money or to waste money on new programs that are wasted on administrative costs will fail Illinois students.
