PELHAM, N.Y., Dec. 8, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Burbio.com, a data service that measures school and community activity, today announced an overview of school district spending from a key Federal initiative to help K-12 school districts recover from the Covid 19 pandemic.
In the spring of 2021 the Federal government authorized $122 billion in spending termed “ESSER III” for “Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief,” allocated on the basis of Title I. Ninety percent of the spending goes directly to local districts termed “Local Education Authorities ” (LEAs). Timing of the spending plan approvals and disclosures varies by state, and districts are required to spend at least 20% of the funds on initiatives that address learning loss. Burbio’s research team has now compiled plans covering $46 billion of spending across 1,700+ districts with just over 40% of the US K-12 school population. There are over 50 documented spending categories.
The number one category that districts are spending on is summer school and afterschool programs. Fully 57% of the districts have allocations for summer school, 38% for afterschool programs, and 17% have allocated dollars to a combination. “The extension of the school day and the extension of the school year appears to be the most immediate and wide ranging impact of the ESSER III funding,” said Burbio co-founder Julie Roche
Mental health and counseling, which has emerged as a major issue as schools have resumed normal operations this fall, are cited in 55% of the plans. HVAC upgrades are cited in 51% of district spending plans and the average for districts budgeting for these upgrades is $5.3 million. In a related area, just under 20% of districts are spending in the area of Covid mitigation.
Additional categories of spending that appear frequently give a further roadmap to techniques districts will be using in the coming years. Tutoring (33%), Student Mobile Devices (35%), Virtual & Online Platforms (18%), Student Assessment (29%), Math and ELA (22%) and Social and Emotional Learning (20%) all appear frequently. Average spending per district in these categories range from $1.1 to $3.6 million.
Different states have different deadlines for plan submissions and Burbio’s data collection efforts will continue throughout 2022. “We believe this information offers a roadmap for education policy makers, K-12 suppliers, and anyone interested in the future of K-12 education,” added Roche.
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Media Contact
Dennis Roche, Burbio, Inc, +1 914-295-0089, dennis@burbio.com
SOURCE Burbio, Inc
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