School districts were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, but help is on the way.
Gov. Tom Wolf announced Monday that nearly $5 billion in relief funds would be going to Pennsylvania school districts. This includes $33,274,790 for area school districts in Cameron, Elk, McKean and Potter counties.
Local allocations range from nearly $340,000 for Austin Area School District to nearly $10 million for Bradford Area School District.
McKean County school districts will receive the following: Bradford, $9,858,499; Kane, $3,237,981; Otto-Eldred, $1,388,457; Port Allegany, $3,261,626; and Smethport, $2,687,974.
In Potter County, allocations are, for Austin, $339,748; Coudersport, $1,592,984; Galeton, $1,012,560; Northern Potter, $2,765,296; and Oswayo Valley, $936,862.
Elk County school districts will receive the following: Johnsonburg, $1,078,824; Ridgway, $1,336,347; and St. Marys, $2,320,497.
Cameron County School District will receive $1,457,135.
The funding is from the federal American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) Fund. Pennsylvania is expected to receive about $4.9 billion.
School districts can use the money for items including food service, professional training, technology, sanitation and cleaning supplies, summer programs, after-school programs and mental health supports.
However, at least 20% of the funding must address learning loss and the social, emotional and academic needs of underrepresented students, according to the press release. Underrepresented students include students from low-income families, students with disabilities, English learners, migrant students, students who are homeless and students in foster care.
“The funding, and the state’s nearly complete special initiative to provide teachers, school staff and contractors the opportunity to get the voluntary, single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, supports the governor’s goal to help more schools to reopen and for additional students and teachers to safely return to the classroom,” stated a press release from Wolf’s office.
The amount each district received is proportional to the federal Title 1-A fund it received last year under the Every Student Succeeds Act.
Schools must use the funding by September 2024.
“Our school communities need these additional resources to invest in instructional materials, equipment, facilities, transportation and more, and we are pleased to make these funds available to them,” said Acting Secretary Noe Ortega. “These funds will provide more assistance to school communities as we continue to navigate the pandemic.”
School districts must apply to the Pennsylvania Department of Education to obtain their allocated funds, and the process for doing so will be posted on the department’s website in the coming days.
The Pennsylvania Department of Education will use about $500 million of ESSER funds “for interventions that address learning loss, support summer enrichment and comprehensive afterschool programs, and assist schools that do not receive a direct ESSER allocation such as career and technical schools and intermediate units,” Wolf’s office reported.
