Solano welcomes feds’ help
After a year of COVID-19, of staying in or working from our homes, of relying on Zoom gatherings for so much of life, and so much more, help is on the way for Solano County and Vacaville area residents. President Joe Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Thursday and it means that individuals who meet certain income requirements and filed IRS tax returns in 2019 or 2020 will be getting a $1,400 stimulus check in the mail or electronically deposited to a bank account.
It also means there will be critical funding to re-open schools, more vaccinations, more employment as school districts, cities, counties and area transportation agencies will be getting millions in financial relief.
While the news is welcome, Rep. John Garamendi, D-Solano, in a press release issued Wednesday in advance of Biden’s signing the bill, recalled the tragedy that well more than 500,000 Americans have died of COVID-19 or its complications, and millions more have been infected and are facing longterm health problems.
“The virus has also disrupted the economic livelihoods of 18 million Americans, who must now count on expanded unemployment benefits that are extended in this bill to keep food on the table,” he advised. “Children are being kept out of the classroom as we enter a second school year of remote learning, and communities are struggling to provide essential services to their residents.”
Calling the bill “critical,” Garamendi said some money will support small businesses and extend unemployment benefits. Additionally, it provides specific funding to support “COVID19-related initiatives” in the sprawling 3rd Congressional District, which includes Vacaville and other parts of Solano County.
Additionally, at 6 p.m. Tuesday, he will host a virtual town hall to discuss how the American Rescue Plan “directly benefits our district and address questions from the community.” For those district residents who may be interested, visit us02web.zoom.us.
The stimulus and aid bill includes a portion of the $128 billion in direct funding to school districts nationwide to support remote learning, help K-12 programs safely reopen, and address lost time in the classroom. Of the $14.3 billion allocated to California, Garamendi secured the following amounts to several local school districts:
Dixon Unified: $5,435,000; Fairfield-Suisun Unified: $25,885,000; River Delta Joint Unified: $2,807,000; Travis Unified: $1,368,000; and Vacaville Unified: $9,288,000.
In an email to The Reporter, DUSD Superintendent Brian Dolan wrote: “We are going to need to see what types of strings may be attached to this funding before committing to concrete plans, but do expect it to help us significantly in helping our students, families, and staff recover from the many forms of loss they have experienced over this last year.”
Additional time for academic support “is obviously crucial, but we also know that there have been very significant impacts on the social-emotional and mental health well-being of everyone in our school community,” he added. “We often speak of addressing the ‘whole child’ in our work. We really do see the need to take the same approach with our families and staff as well.”
Also in an email to The Reporter, Kelly Burks, assistant superintendent for business and administrative services in VUSD, noted the $9.3 million falls under this title: Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief (ESSER) III funds.
“To ensure accountability and transparency, the bill requires the district to publish a reopening plan within 30 days of receiving the ESSER III funds,” she wrote, adding the district will have until Sept. 30, 2024, to spend the money.
Of the estimated $9.3 million, some $1.8 million will be allocated to the “mitigation” of learning loss, as outlined in the funding guidelines.
The seven-member governing board and district administrators will attend an already scheduled board workshop on March 27, during which those attending “will discuss and develop the spending plan to best serve the students of VUSD,” said Burks.
In TUSD, Superintendent Pamela Conklin wrote in an email: “The relief will help our students get back in the classroom and recover from challenges the pandemic brings. We are currently looking into how to use these one-time funds to best meet the needs of our students.”
Garamendi said the American Rescue Plan also includes direct federal financial relief to Solano cities and other district communities “to help cover budget shortfalls” and continue to provide essential services, such as firefighting, law enforcement, nutrition assistance and more.
Under the plan, he noted, Solano County will receive $86.8 million and parsed out this way: Dixon: $3.9 million; Fairfield: $21.5 million; Rio Vista: $1.8 million; Suisun City: $5.6 million; and Vacaville: $12.6 million.
Vacaville Fire Chief Kris Concepcion, city spokesman, confirmed Vacaville will receive the nearly $13 million.
“We realize that businesses have been affected by the pandemic,” he said Wednesday. “As soon as we learn of any restrictions, we will lay out our plans, but our priorities are to assist small businesses.”
Concepcion said city Finance Director Ken Matsumiya and staff will “come up with recommendations for the City Council and the Council will make the final decision.”
“But our highest priority is to help small businesses and individuals affected by the pandemic,” he added.
Under the sweeping federal stimulus package, there will be new funding “to restore public transportation services to pre-pandemic levels,” said Garamendi. The aid includes $2.5 million for Fairfield and nearly $788,000 for Vacaville.
According to the Solano Transportation Authority, the COVID-19 pandemic created budget shortfalls of $2.8 million for Fairfield; and nearly $900,000 for Vacaville, he noted.
Those budget shortfalls resulted in a 45% reduction of service for the SolanoExpress transit service, said Garamendi, adding that the new funding “will restore this funding to pre-pandemic levels and allow SolanoExpress to transport essential workers and frontline health care workers who rely on SolanoExpress for their commute.”
He cited January’s COVID death toll as the highest since the pandemic started in the United States one year ago and 9.8 million fewer jobs nationwide today than there were right before the start of the pandemic.
“This aid is urgently needed to save lives, jobs, and the well-being of our cities, states, and citizens,” he said, and needs to get into “American people’s hands.”
And it will, for those who qualify.
Marianne Butler, education director for the Solano Resource Conservation District in Dixon, and her husband will receive $1,400 each, but it is a financial infusion that she has “not contemplated” extensively.
“I’ll probably save the money for future use,” she said.
Daniel Garcia, 27, of Fairfield, a graduate of California State University Maritime Academy in Vallejo and works for a shipping company, said, “I’m going to put it in savings. I’m trying to buy a house this year.”