District expects $9.1M in stimulus

LANSDALE >> The final numbers aren’t quite in yet, but early signs are that the North Penn School District will see a windfall from the latest federal stimulus bill, even larger than from two passed last year.

“We wanted to provide you an update on where we are, what we’ve received, and what we’ve used it for, and what we’re planning for the future,” said Assistant Director of Business Administration Kristin Johnson.

“To date, North Penn has been awarded over $8.3 million in federal funding — that is, specifically for the general fund, and $81,900 for extended care under our enterprise fund,” she said.

As she spoke to the board’s finance committee on Tuesday night, Johnson gave details, showing a chart detailing the various bills and programs that provided funding, dates by which it must be spent, and amounts.

“We’re trying to take that all into account as we’re looking at how to apply expenditures that are related to our COVID response,” she said.

So far roughly $5.9 million in funding has already been spent, and $2.1 million is still unassigned, but could be used for summer programs or other ways to mitigate student learning set back by the COVID shutdowns.

Under the first Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) bill last year, the district received roughly $984,000 for the general fund, all of which must be spent by this Sept. 30, and all of which has, she said. A second round of ESSER funding yielded $4.6 million to the district, with an expiration date of Sept. 30, 2023, and about $2.1 million earmarked so far.

“As we look toward the summer, and 2021-22, we’ll continue to evaluate what needs we have, and identify costs that we can charge against this ESSER 2.0 grant,” she said.

The district also secured roughly $1.6 million in federal funds passed through Montgomery County under a county CARES grant, that did have a deadline of Dec. 31, 2020, but a delay was encountered in purchasing roughly $389,000 worth of Chromebook laptop computers for students to use while learning from home.

“We’re hoping that there is going to be an extension to that deadline, which will allow us to charge back those funds to that grant. And we’re not the only district in the county that has experienced this,” Johnson said.

Of the $5.9 million already spent, the district has charged purchases of personal protective equipment, cleaning equipment, technology upgrades, increased staffing needed, software for virtual instruction, and for 2021-22 will likely need to add student assistance programming as kids return to schools. Other funding sources include two rounds from the PA Commission on Crime and Delinquency, one for just shy of $603,000 and another for $374,000, plus the $81,900 in funds for the district extended care department which is classified in the district budget as a separate enterprise fund.

“We’re planning all of these expenses, and there’ll likely be many, many more as we continue on,” she said.

The third federal stimulus bill approved earlier this month looks likely to provide even more: “Because of that approval, the district is anticipating an additional amount of funding of over $9.3 million — we don’t have the firm number yet, but it’s approximately that amount,” she said.

Of that total, roughly 20 percent or about $1.9 million must be used for learning loss mitigation, and the entire amount is expected to have an expiration date of Sept. 30, 2023, Johnson told the board.

“We’re going to identity needs for the response to COVID, and what we can charge back to this 3.0 grant,” she said.

New funding may also be available for the extended care program via a grant program recently announced by Gov. Tom Wolf, she added, and Wolf’s proposed allocation of $9,300 to offset revenues lost from reduced enrollment could total just under $121,000. District staff are working on an application for that funding now, Johnson said, and a full presentation on that department’s budget will be made at a future finance committee meeting.

“If this anticipated funding is awarded, North Penn will have been awarded over $17.7 million for our general fund, and almost $203,000 for our extended care enterprise fund, for COVID-19 response,” she said.

Board member Cathy Wesley asked how the federal funds, particularly for elementary and secondary education, would appear in each department budget. Johnson said that would depend on where the money goes: “that expense will still show in their budget, but the funding source will be different,” and district CFO Steve Skrocki said he was confident in Johnson’s oversight.

“I can tell you that Mrs. Johnson tracks this with a fine-tooth comb. There is a line-item detail for every grant that she discussed tonight,” he said.

Board member Jonathan Kassa asked if the federal funds would supplement or supplant expenses already budgeted, and Skrocki said they would largely supplant -- “meaning, we can take existing, planned expenditures, as long as they meet the guidelines, and apply that toward the federal funding,”