$2.5M federal aid delays cuts for city schools

District to use CARES Act funds through 2023 to avoid immediate cuts.

MIDDLETOWN — A series of looming $2.5 million budget cuts for Middletown Schools has been delayed thanks to federal funds from a coronavirus relief program, school officials said Monday.

Members of the district’s school board heard from Treasurer Randy Bertram, who said attorneys for the district have recently confirmed it is possible to tap into the most recent Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Grant Program, which is part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

The new federal funds will help stave off most of the proposed $2.5 million reductions in personnel, programs and transportation the board was considering to begin next school year for an additional two school years, said Bertram.

Middletown school officials had also previously discussed the possibility of seeking a school tax hike as early as November if the original cuts were not made.

“The ESSER dollars will not replace the cost of the cuts but supplant the costs of the cuts so we can suspend them while we have the ESSER grant available to us,” he said of the emergency federal funding designed to help public schools offset the unexpected costs brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

Moreover, said Bertram, district attorneys have determined the $11.7 million in federal grant money can be used for the operating and other expenses the district had targeted for elimination.

Board president Chris Urso said members will continue to

Middletown Board of Education was informed Monday of federal aid available to help public schools offset the financial costs of the pandemic. The move allows the board to table a possible school tax hike that could have appeared as early as the November ballot.