Panelists OK school funds for 35 districts
A legislative panel on Aug. 23 signed off on granting $123.5 million in spending authority for the state Department of Education to disburse federal American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief Fund money to 35 school districts.
The Legislative Council’s Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review Subcommittee authorized the spending authority without any discussion.
Lawmakers learned from a staff member that 11 of the districts’ current plans for using these federal funds meet the Legislative Council’s recommendation that the funds be used to give a $5,000 bonus to full-time teachers, a $2,500 bonus to full-time classified staff, and a bonus to part-time classified staff in amounts that are half of those awarded their full-time counterparts.
Eight other districts revised their plans for using the federal funds to meet the Legislative Council’s recommendation, and 16 other districts’ plans don’t meet the council’s recommendation, a Bureau of Legislative Research staff member said.
On July 21, the Legislative Council voted 41-7 to rescind its June 17 approval of $500 million in spending authority for the state Department of Education to disburse funds under the federal American Rescue Plan’s Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief Fund. The council subsequently voted to grant back $42 million of that spending authority.
About three weeks ago, the council’s Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review Subcommittee signed off on granting $145.2 million in spending authority for the state Department of Education to disburse federal American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary Schools
Emergency Relief Fund money to 38 school districts.
These 38 included 24 districts that sought more of their allocations of these federal funds that don’t have current plans for using these funds that meet the council’s recommendation, nine districts that sought more of their allocations of these federal funds with current plans for using the federal funds that meet the council’s recommendation, and five districts that sought more of their allocations revised their plans to meet the council’s recommendation.
The purpose of the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief Funds is to help state education agencies and local school districts to safely reopen and sustain safe operations of schools and to address the academic, social, emotional and mental health impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on the nation’s students, according to the state Department of Education.
The 11 districts seeking more of their allocations of these federal funds with current plans that meet the Legislative Council’s recommendation include Ashdown, Conway, Fountain Lake, Hamburg, Hoxie, Jacksonville/North Pulaski, Lamar, Mountain Home, Pine Bluff, Premier High Schools of Arkansas, Premier High School North Little Rock, and Premier High School of Springdale, according to a Bureau of Legislative Research report to the state Department of Education.
The eight districts that seek more of their allocations that revised their plans to meet the council’s recommendation include Cave City, Danville, De Queen, Hamburg, HelenaWest Helena, Lee County, Nettletown and Perryville, the report shows.
The 16 districts seeking more of their allocations of these federal funds with plans that don’t meet the council’s recommendation and providing a justification for not meeting the council’s recommendation include Academics Plus Charter Schools, Armorel, Arkansas Virtual Academy, Bismarck, Carlisle, Earle, Lavaca, Lincoln, Pea Ridge, Prairie Grove, Prescott, Pulaski County, Riverview, South Conway County, South Pike County and West Fork, the bureau report shows.
The report shows the Pulaski County Special School District already has committed a stipend of $8,694,562 to support professionals through the pandemic by using these federal funds and the district has developed an ARP plan to support learning loss, cover the extensive additional costs due to the pandemic and rising costs, and support facility infrastructure to be more responsive to covid-19 or any new virus to ensure its schools are open.
Under federal law, the state Department of Education may not direct how school districts choose to use these federal funds but will assist school districts as needed to develop plans and priorities, department Secretary Johnny Key has said.
The Department of Education may not reimburse districts for American Rescue Plan ESSER expenses until the department’s appropriation request has been approved by the subcommittee, according to Key.
The school districts have spent $376.2 million of their federal ESSER funds on additional salaries, Department of Education spokeswoman Kim Mundell said Tuesday.
The schools have been allocated a total of $1.77 billion ESSER funds, including $119 million in ESSER I, $502 million in ESSER II, $23.2 million in ESSER II supplemental and $1.13 billion in American Rescue Plan ESSER funds.
Mundell said $766.5 million of the $1.13 billion in American Rescue Plan ESSER fund allocations hadn’t been spent.