HANCOCK COUNTY — An estimated additional $5.4 million is coming to county schools to aid in their recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The allocation comes from the American Rescue Plan Act and makes up the third round of federal stimulus funding for schools since the pandemic started.
Under the new round of funding, schools can reimburse certain expenses through September 2024 associated with pandemic-related challenges.
Schools must spend at least 20% of their allocations on supporting accelerated learning opportunities for students to make up for lost instructional time caused by the pandemic.
Allocations are based on funding districts receive this school year from Title I A, which provides financial assistance to schools for students from low-income families.
Greenfield-Central is estimated to receive more than $2.7 million. Superintendent Harold Olin said the district will determine the destinations of those funds through planning with principals and input from teachers.
One consideration will be partnering with community agencies and hiring staff to help support students’ social and emotional needs, Olin continued. Others will include ways to improve air quality in buildings and programming for students not only during the school year but also during evenings and school breaks.
“We are very excited about these opportunities to have these monies,” Olin said.
Whether any of the destinations for the funding would be an ongoing expense will be an important factor for school officials to consider, he continued, with the stimulus money being a one-time allocation.
Mt. Vernon is estimated to receive more than $1.4 million. Maria Bond, district spokeswoman, told the Daily Reporter in an email that the district is thankful for the funds.
“Although we have not made any final decisions, we are planning to utilize the majority of these funds to help with resources that focus on our loss of learning many students incurred due to the pandemic,” Bond said. “One step we have taken is to hire reading and math interventionists (certified teachers) to target our students most at risk. We are determined to help all students achieve at high levels.”
Eastern Hancock is estimated to receive nearly $630,000. Superintendent Dave Pfaff said initial discussions have focused on expenses associated with learning loss in light of the 20% requirement, but that no firm determinations have yet been made.
“We’re not in a rush to make a final decision,” Pfaff said. “We want to make sure that we do a good job of considering our needs and brainstorming solutions and trying to do the most effective ones.”
Southern Hancock is estimated to receive more than $600,000. Wes Anderson, district spokesman, said some of that will go toward additional remediation, which could include summer school and potentially hiring more staff like teachers’ aides and social workers. Some will be earmarked for to-be-determined facility upgrades as well.
Anderson said Southern Hancock also plans to apply for a learning loss grant that’s part of proposed state legislation Gov. Eric Holcomb is expected to sign. In order to receive that funding, however, the district will have had to have spent all of its money from the first two rounds of federal stimulus funding.
“Our question is now whether we’re going to have to spend this money as well,” Anderson said, referring to the third round, adding that will affect which funds get used for which purposes.
Planning allocations for the state’s non-public schools, which together total an additional $78 million, will be released later this spring.
Statewide, schools are getting a total of nearly $1.8 billion through the latest round of stimulus funding.
“Over the past year, this is the third round of federal funding allowing many Indiana schools access to unprecedented resources to sustainably invest in their future,” said Katie Jenner, Indiana Secretary of Education, in a news release. “While the needs may vary from one school to the next, it’s critical that schools are strategically planning to maximize their return on investment, in turn achieving the greatest outcomes for students.”
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Federal stimulus funding for schools
- Greenfield-Central: $2,710,877.58
- Mt. Vernon: $1,469,225.83
- Eastern Hancock: $629,790.04
- Southern Hancock: $606,456.45
- Total: $5,416,349.90
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