MPS making plans for more than $500 million in federal stimulus
With a historic $506 million federal stimulus installment projected for Milwaukee Public Schools, community leaders are calling on the district to seek input from students and families how to spend what amounts to more than a third the size of the district’s annual budget.
Administrators have proposed a partial spending plan focused heavily on air quality improvements, mental health services, teacher training and tutoring. But they are required, under federal rules attached to the money, not to finalize plans without feedback from certain communities and demographics.
The district has offered a series of engagement sessions open to the general public.
Leaders of organizations that work with youth — Urban Underground, Running Rebels, Common
Community leaders are calling on the district to seek feedback from students and families.
Ground, Leaders Igniting Transformation and others — said it’s important the outreach doesn’t end there.
“There are life-changing dollars that are coming down the pike,” said Sharlen Moore, director of Urban Underground. “This is an opportunity for some transformative change to happen and we hope MPS doesn’t drop the ball on this one.”
What are the rules for the stimulus funds?
MPS, like districts across the country, is receiving three rounds of stimulus funds under the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, known as ESSER I, II and III. The amounts are based largely on how many students in the district come from lowincome families.
MPS already received ESSER I funds, $41 million as part of the CARES Act, last summer. Board members already approved plans for ESSER II funds: $225 million to be used before October 2023. ESSER III, funded by the American Rescue Plan, is projected to send MPS another $506 million for use before October 2024. With the third installment, districts have some guidelines around how they spend the money.
At least 20% of funds must go toward addressing “learning loss,” the slips in academic progress that happened during the pandemic, with special attention to groups that were disproportionately affected by COVID.
The other 80% of funds can be used for a variety of purposes related to pandemic safety and addressing impacts of the pandemic. Some of the more specific allowed uses include:
Training and equipment for reducing virus transmission and exposure to other health risks
Improving indoor air quality Purchasing technology for education, including remote learning Providing mental health services Summer school and after-school programming
The list also includes some broader categories, including “addressing needs” of children from low-income families, children with disabilities, English learners, racial and ethnic minorities, students experiencing homelessness and foster care youth. For MPS, that encompasses the vast majority of its students.
Though the guidelines allow for wide flexibility, the district is limited by the nature of the funding being a temporary infusion. For example, if the district were to hire new staff with the funding, it could struggle to retain those staff after the spending period ends in 2024.
What’s been proposed?
When Superintendent Keith Posley and administrators presented plans for the second stimulus installment, they also included ideas for the about $156 million of the third installment, too, to build on the second round initiatives.
Those proposals fell into three categories. The largest category, facilities and maintenance, included about:
$48 million for air-temperature controls, on top of $2 million from the second installment
$14 million for carpet replacement $8.5 million to replace lockers $7 million to build outdoor classrooms
$6 million for windows and doors $5.5 million to replace drinking fountains
The next largest, health and wellness, included about:
$13.6 million for mental health support, on top of $7.9 million from the second installment
$10 million for physical health and COVID mitigation, on top of $2.9 million
$9.4 million for social and emotional learning, on top of $10.2 million
$2 million for exercise stations and ropes courses
The third category, accelerating learning, included about:
$11.2 million for direct services, on top of $10.5 million from the second installment, primarily to pay teachers to staff programs and tutoring services before and after school, on Saturdays and over summer and winter breaks
$9.1 million for materials, including curriculum and technology, on top of $43.4 million
$8.5 million for professional development, on top of $7.2 million
Separately from MPS, Common Ground, which represents many local organizations, held its own engagement events about the stimulus funds with over 100 attendees. They put forward proposals for $100 million of the dollars, including:
$50 million to divide among MPS schools, giving each school community control over spending decisions with input from students, families and staff
$48 million for professional development $1 million to speed hiring to fill vacancies and boost recruitment of teachers of color
$1 million for tutoring, with Common Ground committing to help recruit volunteer tutors to expand the reach of the program
How can people weigh in?
The presentation from the community engagement sessions can be viewed at mpsmke.com/esser3, where there is also a survey where community members can rank priorities and share ideas.
Under federal requirements attached to the funds, MPS must engage the following groups in making spending plans: Tribes; civil rights organizations (including disability rights organizations); and stakeholders representing the interests of children with disabilities, English learners, children experiencing homelessness, children in foster care, migratory students, children who are incarcerated, and other underserved students.
John Rakowski, senior director of development and partnerships for Running Rebels, said he would also like to see MPS collaborating with city and county governments on plans for stimulus funds. And he said the district should provide more accessible information about its current spending levels on various services so community members can give more informed feedback.
“Without knowing where current investments are, it’s going to be really difficult for the community to have constructive input,” he said.
Jennifer O’Hear, executive director with Common Ground, said the group’s proposal to allow individual school communities to control $50 million of the funding would allow for more opportunities to engage families in the process.
“Folks are hungry for real engagement of parents and families and not just bringing them in after the decision’s been mostly made,” O’Hear said. “I hope this could be a shift in culture where we’re engaging parents, families and students more in deciding how our tax dollars are spent and what we want in our schools.”