Charles City School District outlines allocation of ESSER III funding

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

The Charles City School District is receiving more than $3.1 million in federal funding through phase three of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund, and Director of Finance Evan Marten updated the school board last week as to how the district is spending the money.

The ESSER III Fund allocated nearly $123 billion to states and school districts to help safely reopen pre-kindergarten through 12th grade (PK-12) schools, sustain the safe operation of schools, and address the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on students.

The school district received more than $2.5 million in funding, and an additional $627,000 in funds earmarked to address learning loss. The total amount of federal funds allocated came to $3,135,915.

The district leadership team consulted with stakeholders at a public meeting, through a teacher task force and through a committee meeting as to the best ways to allocate the money. The district has until June of 2024 to use the funding.

A total of $1 million of the amount, spread out over three years, is going to the Innovative Campus. The Innovative Campus is a new program in the school district this year that in part came out of some of the experiences teaching during the pandemic, and that brings together several non-mainstream ways of delivering an education, including the Carrie Lane High School alternative program, School to You remote learning and the Home School Assistance Program.

An amount of $491,482 is going to salaries for the Innovative Campus’s teachers and administrators, $200,000 is going to curriculum and $308,517 is going to supplies.

One million dollars of the ESSER III funds is being divided among the four school buildings, with Washington Elementary receiving $230,769, Lincoln Elementary receiving $153,846 and Charles City Middle School and Charles City High School each receiving $307,692.

A total of $500,000 is going to operational projects that are covered by COVID and also part of the district’s strategic plan. An amount of $200,000 is going to the Lincoln playground, $100,000 to North Grand utilities, $60,000 to cement work, $50,000 to Central Services office space, $47,534 to school bus cameras, leaving about $26,000 in operational discretionary spending.

The school district is also allocating $633,740 in discretionary money as cushion for unplanned costs or overages in essential functions. This includes $81,000 in curriculum reserves, $113,000 in professional development reserves, $76,000 in COVID/recoupment work days, $100,000 in medical training services and $263,740 for unknown or unforeseen pandemic-related impacts.

Part of that discretionary money will award $1,000 retention bonuses to all school district employees. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has announced that state money would be provided to teachers, but the criteria is narrow, and some certified teachers and staff would be excluded.

The school board has voted to backfill that money through ESSER funds, to make sure that every employee receives a retention bonus. The board stated that it anticipates that staffing issues will continue into the 2022-23 school year and will make hiring and retention for next year increasingly challenging.

The one-time retention incentive payment in the amount of $1,000 will go to classified staff who sign contracts with the district no later than May 25 to remain employed through the 2022-23 school year.

The bonus includes certified teaching staff who were not eligible for the Governor’s retention incentive and who have agreed to fulfill the remainder of their contract, and also directors, administrators, administrative support, and any other staff who do not fall under a unionized group.

In 2020 and 2021, Congress passed three stimulus bills that provided nearly $190.5 billion to the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund. States receive funds based on the same proportion that each state receives under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title-IA. States must distribute at least 90% of funds to local education agencies (LEAs) based on their proportional share of ESEA Title I-A funds. States have the option to reserve 10% of the allocation for emergency needs as determined by the state to address issues responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, passed on March 27, 2020, provided $13.5 billion to the ESSER Fund.

The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSA), passed on Dec. 27, 2020, provided $54.3 billion in supplemental ESSER funding, known as the ESSER II fund.

The American Rescue Plan Act, passed on March 11, 2021, provided $122.7 billion in supplemental ESSER funding, known as the ESSER III fund.