School district releases plans for spending $127 million

Bert Rettig, a mechanic, works under the hood of a 2000 school bus in the garage at the Marion County Public Schools Northwest Transportation Bus Facility on Northwest Gainesville Road in Ocala on February 9. Some of the federal relief funds coming to Marion County Public Schools will be used to purchase new school buses to replace aging buses in the fleet. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.

Much-needed teachers and support staff, summer school guidance counselors, new laptops and school buses are just some of the items included in the Marion County School District’s lengthy spending plan for the $127 million it’ll soon receive through federal COVID relief funds. 

More than $22 million alone will go towards stipends for 2,500 classroom teachers for five hours per week for Professional Learning Centers planning for two years.  

The Elementary and Secondary Emergency Relief III (ESSER) funding will also go towards the construction of outdoor picnic pavilions, upgrading HVAC systems, and mental health services, among other things. 

School Board Chair the Rev. Eric Cummings said the money will go far in helping the school district recover from the still-lingering effects of the pandemic, but will also go quickly. 

“This isn’t a wish list,” he said of the spending plan submitted to the state in January. “These are things that need to be taken care of to stop the COVID slide.” 

“This money will help us get back on track to be successful as a district,” he said. “We have to use the money judicially.”

Dr. Stacey Reese, director of federal programs, said the spending plan was compiled following feedback and suggestions from stakeholders.

“We received input from both the community and the district’s employees,” said Reece, a 22-year district employee, and former principal. “The stakeholders gave us input on what they needed and wanted.”

Kevin Christian, director of public relations for the district, said it has already been notified its application has been approved, and now it’s up to the government to release it to the school district. 

The ESSER III funds will expire in Sept. 2024, so the district must use them or else, said Reece. 

“The sun will set on the ESSER III funding in 2024; whatever is not spent has to be sent back,” she said, adding the district is still processing the roughly $73 million it previously received through ESSER I and ESSER II funding. 

Congress passed three stimulus bills in 2020 and 2021 providing nearly $190.5 billion to the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund, with the overall goal of opening schools safely to maximize in-person learning and to address the impact of COVID.  

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act of March 2020 provided $13.5 billion to the ESSER Fund, the Dec. 2020 Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSA), gave an additional $54.3 billion in the ESSER II fund, while the American Rescue Plan Act of March 11, 2021, provided a supplemental $122.7 billion to the ESSER III fund.

States receive funds based on what each state receives under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title-IA. Florida received more than $7 billion total in ARP ESSER funds. 

District 4 School Board member Nancy Thrower said the money the school district is receiving is an enormous amount, but matches the impact the virus has had on the 43,000 students in the district. 

“The biggest chunk goes towards having a very robust academic recovery that spans every single grade level,” she said.  

“The spending plan is comprehensive for a reason,” said Thrower. “We are passionate about making sure our kids have their one shot at a great education.”

The coronavirus has set all school districts back, not just Marion County, she said.  

“We are not alone; there are kids that have been in school since 2019 that have never had a typical school year,” said Thrower, who recently filed for reelection. “But I think we are going to be in a much better position financially and partnership-wise moving forward.” 

Meanwhile, Cummings said the school board recognizes the funding is not recurring and when it runs out other ways to pay the ongoing salaries of the myriad hires will have to be found. 

“Hopefully by then we will be in a much different situation,” he said. “We have very gifted and talented financial folks within the district that will seek out as many funds as possible so that we can keep moving forward.”

Here are some ways the Marion County School District plans to use its ESSER III funding, which total more than $60 million of the $127 million its receiving: 

• $22 million towards stipends for 2,500 classroom teachers for five hours per week for Professional Learning Centers planning.  

• $6.1million for HVAC remodeling and renovations throughout the school district.

• $5.9 million for contracted mental health services at 48 schools, and the implementation of evidence-based full-service community schools.

• $3.8 million for instructional staff for professional development and behavior support training.

• $3.7 million for the purchase of Chromebook storage/recharging carts and interactive flat panels. 

• $3.3 million for salaries for afterschool and summer school teachers/tutoring. 

• $3-plus million to hire 5 intervention teachers for the four non-Title I schools and Eighth Street Elementary, 17 Secondary Math teachers, and ten Elementary Intervention teachers.

• $2.8 million for the purchase of supplies to sanitize and clean facilities. 

• $2.7 million for 48 school-based Home-School Liaisons.

• $2.1 million for classroom substitute positions at all schools to support direct instruction and reduce interruption due to teacher absence.

• $1.8 million for the construction of covered picnic pavilions. 

• $1.4 million for the purchase of 13 school buses to expand routing in the district. 

• $1.14 million to hire 12 international teachers participating in TPG and/or EPI Cultural Exchange Program. 

• $805,000 for 67 summer school guidance counselors. 

• $706,000-plus for the purchase of 2,595 Chrome books for online learning for summer and supplemental after-school programs.