Savannah-Chatham County Public School System could receive up to $99 million as part of President Joe Biden’s America Rescue Plan that was signed into law in March 2021.
This isa one-time grant, so school board members are already cautioning not to commit to something that will be unsustainable in the future.
The $99 million is in addition to funds the district has or will receivefrom the first two installments from the CARES Act – the Elementary & Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER I) funding of $10,929,786 and ESSER II funding of $44,088,599.
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All that moneycomes with a lot of strings attached.
According to guidelines set forth by the U.S. Department of Education, ESSER I funds were allowed to be used as reimbursem*nts for purchasing PPE, cleaning supplies, technology and the learning management system, in addition to other expensesdue to the pandemic.
In her presentation to the board at its informal meeting last Wednesday morning, Paige Cooley, the district's budget director, showed the board that almost halfof the ESSER I funds ($5.3 million) have already been spent. The largest two chunks have gone toward computers ($2.73 million) and supplies ($1.11 million). She added that not all the custodial costs spent for extra cleaning have been accounted for at this time.
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Before SCCPSS can start to budget all that money for itself, it must share a proportional amount with the area’s non-public students. The U.S. Department of Education stipulates that the public school district consult with area non-public schools to provide “equitable services” and determine a “proportional” share for the non-public-school’s Title I students.
Then there are deadlines. The remaining $5.6 million from ESSER I must be spent by Sept. 30, 2022. ESSER II must be spent by Sept. 30, 2023,and ESSER III must be spent by Sept. 30, 2024. "[The deadlines are meant] to address dire needs now," Cooley told the board. "They make sure we’re digging straight in to addressing that learning loss quickly and getting everybody to where they should be [academically]."
The district's top priority for ESSER II funds in 2021-22 and 2022-23is addressing learning loss, providing summer school, and before/after school care. To that end the three largest chunks budgeted are: supplies, almost $9.7 million (22%); software $9.3 million ( 21%); and salaries, $8.7 million (20%).
Twenty percent of the ESSER III funds ($19.8 million of the $99 million) must be spent on programs that target learning loss due to the pandemic.
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Cooley explained the expenditure for the salaries in ESSER II. As a grant, the money is "not just given to us." Cooley said. "We have to spend [first] from our own coffers, then askto be reimbursed. Someone has to oversee all that.We have to follow guidelines and get it approved. The Academic Affairs [department] has to oversee how this money is implemented and spent. We are going to have to hire more people [in finance and accounting]."
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Cooley stated that Academic Affairs will handle all the dealings with mitigating learning loss and all the requirements and services for special education students. The district finance department will handle the completion reports to request the reimbursem*nts.
In the discussion about using the funds and that it won't last forever, Shawn Kachmar, District 4 board member, said, "I want to be watchful that we don’t make investments that require long-term commitmentsand make sure we’re clear about funding sources."
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Board President Joe Buck added that people might think their property taxes are going down because "[they say] you've got all this federal money." He explained that the federal money is a one-time grant and not implied to sustain the district long-term. State and local taxes generally fund the school district from year to year. The federal money is designed to reimburse school districts for unanticipated costs associated with the pandemic starting in March 2020.
"The money is a grant. [The] cash is [given in] a top-heavy manner," Buck said. "It will leave us very short in two or three years if we haven’t carefully managed this money. It’s very important to understand that this is not going to continue to take us down the road a long way."
District Superintendent Ann Levett also addressed that concern. "Our intention is to look at how we are able to jumpstart things recognizing whatever we do has long-term implications," Levett explained. "If we’re going to continue with any of those things, making sure we’re planning ahead and we’re not making commitments for years out that may have a huge budgetary impact."
Barbara Augsdorfer is the education reporter for the Savannah Morning News. Reach her at BAugsdorfer@gannett.com or on Twitter @Babs7983.
