Schools Shortchanged on Local COVID19 Dollars

Schools are being shortchanged by the Texas Education Agency. Per a KVUE report, some Texas school districts will have to figure out a plan after not getting additional funding they counted on to recover from the COVID19 shutdown. Instead, the Texas Education Agency will put CARES Act funds toward money lost in the 2019-2020 school year. 

Schools Expected Dollars To Be Local

All Texas school districts were given entitlement amounts from the CARES Act Relief Fund based on their student population. According to the document, Dallas ISD’s entitlement amount is more than $61,000,000.

Local school districts leaders said they planned to use the money to improve online learning, hire more interventionists who work with students who need extra support, and to help kids who fell behind this past spring.

“…it definitely isn’t what we were led to believe in the beginning. So many of us, most of us, made big plans when we were seeing those allotments for how we would spend them to meet student needs,” said Dr. Suzy Lofton-Bullis, deputy superintendent for Lago Vista ISD.

The Lago Vista ISD deputy superintendent also said, “There aren’t federal dollars being infused into schools. There’s federal dollars being infused into the state budget to offset costs, so the schools themselves won’t be receiving anything supplemental.”