$6 billion. That’s how much Michigan schools are receiving from the federal government to "help students and staff recover from the pandemic". But it isn’t entirely clear how this unprecedented amount of federal cash is being spent and whether it is having an impact.
Schools across Michigan have $6 billion in federal 'pandemic relief; funds to spend — but some of the planned uses are not explicitly pandemic-related, according to spending proposals submitted to the state.
Among them: A playground ball pit, metal detectors and a nutrition room with smoothie service.
Schools have a lot of flexibility in using the influx of federal money — and just a few years to spend it. Proposed uses vary greatly among the more than 500 school districts, and cover nearly everything from athletic fields to food trucks, according to a review by the Detroit Free Press.
When asked about non-COVID-related spending, school district leaders said they believed spending on athletics and other similar categories "fit under the broad umbrella of student well-being".
Others said they were making infrastructural and building improvements they’ve already waited too long to make, thanks to years of inadequate state funding.
“School districts and school administrators, really, we're doing our due diligence to be responsible with taxpayer funding,” said Susan Tollefson, superintendent of L’Anse Area Schools in the Upper Peninsula.
In signing off on the most significant and last influx of cash in the American Rescue Plan, Biden said he hoped the funds would, in part, help schools reopen amid the pandemic.
The last round of money needs to be spent by 2024.
The amount of money allocated to districts and schools depended on a few factors, including the number of students enrolled and the number of low-income students in a district. Districts with more low-income students received more funding.
https://eu.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2022/04/11/michigan-schools-federal-covid-relief-funds/9504896002/
Schools across Michigan have $6 billion in federal 'pandemic relief; funds to spend — but some of the planned uses are not explicitly pandemic-related, according to spending proposals submitted to the state.
Among them: A playground ball pit, metal detectors and a nutrition room with smoothie service.
Schools have a lot of flexibility in using the influx of federal money — and just a few years to spend it. Proposed uses vary greatly among the more than 500 school districts, and cover nearly everything from athletic fields to food trucks, according to a review by the Detroit Free Press.
When asked about non-COVID-related spending, school district leaders said they believed spending on athletics and other similar categories "fit under the broad umbrella of student well-being".
Others said they were making infrastructural and building improvements they’ve already waited too long to make, thanks to years of inadequate state funding.
“School districts and school administrators, really, we're doing our due diligence to be responsible with taxpayer funding,” said Susan Tollefson, superintendent of L’Anse Area Schools in the Upper Peninsula.
In signing off on the most significant and last influx of cash in the American Rescue Plan, Biden said he hoped the funds would, in part, help schools reopen amid the pandemic.
The last round of money needs to be spent by 2024.
The amount of money allocated to districts and schools depended on a few factors, including the number of students enrolled and the number of low-income students in a district. Districts with more low-income students received more funding.
https://eu.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2022/04/11/michigan-schools-federal-covid-relief-funds/9504896002/