Freshmen head to classes at McKay High School April 2021. Schools in Oregon have access to more than a billion in pandemic aid, yet less than 8% of it has been awarded. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)
By ALEX BAUMHARDT/Oregon Capital Chronicle
In some Oregon school districts, turf fields and lawn mowers were necessities to overcome the pandemic and get schools reopened.
Others used emergency relief money to retrofit buildings with ventilation systems, add laptop computers for students and pay for online teaching.
But the state still holds more than $1 billion meant to help school districts address pandemic-related issues.
Since March 2020, Oregon has been allocated $1.7 billion in emergency relief funding from the federal government to get students back in classrooms, and to get them caught up on their education after school closures.
Now, more than a year later, most of that money remains unspent.
School districts so far have been reimbursed for about $222 million in emergency relief projects, according to the Oregon Education Department. That means just under 8% of all dollars have made it back to districts.
The bulk of that money has gone to staff, technology and capital projects – getting kids laptops and wifi, upgrading ventilation systems and adding more classrooms to encourage social distancing.
But emergency purchases also included weight room equipment, bleachers and playgrounds.
Districts must spend at least $201 million of Oregon’s latest relief money to combat learning loss over the next three years, but data from the Education Department show that less than 1% has been distributed so far for that purpose.
The reasons behind what districts are buying, and when, are complex, but they have broad latitude in using the extra money.
School Emergency Relief Fund
The Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund was signed into federal law in March 2020 as school buildings in many states were closing and classes shifted online.
The first round of money was ready to go out to states immediately for buying personal protective equipment for staff and students who had to remain in school buildings, and to help schools pay for the transition to online learning. That included laptops for students, new online teaching software, network security upgrades and internet hotspots for families that otherwise had no internet access.
It also paid for more teachers, substitute teachers, counselors and support staff.
The money was awarded from the federal government to the state Education Department, which reimburses districts for their purchases. Purchases over $5,000 must have prior approval from the department.
Oregon’s share of funds in that first round was $121 million.
Most of the state’s 216 school and education service districts have claimed some portion of the funds and to date, more than $100 million of that first round funding has been spent.
The second and third rounds of funding came in December 2020 and March 2021. Oregon was allocated $499 million in the second round to spend on getting schools ready to reopen.
In the third round, the state was allocated $1.1 billion.
It was additional money for school reopening that came with a new federal mandate – school districts had to spend at least 20% on combating learning losses. Schools have until 2024 to spend the latest round of money.
Of the $1.1 billion available to Oregon districts in the third round, about $18 million has been distributed so far, according to the state Education Department. That has gone to paying for summer school programs, salaries, payroll costs, retirement costs and technology and supplies.
Districts are allowed to use the relief funds to pay for new teachers, and boost pay for current employees for taking on additional work during the pandemic and to retain them.
Of the $202 million set aside to help students catch up on their education, about $1.4 million – less than .05% – has been distributed so far, according to the Education Department.
Cynthia Stinson is senior manager of federal investments and pandemic renewal at the state Education Department. She said timing is the issue with the relatively slow payout for extra learning programs.
She said most schools haven’t had to draw on the emergency funds yet to pay for tutoring, counseling, afterschool and remediation programs. Many only just recently submitted budgets to meet an October deadline set by the federal government, and some are taking a long-range approach with the money, having been given three years to spend it.
In an email, Marc Siegel, communications director at the Education Department wrote, “It is important to note that the three relief acts came in very short succession.”
Siegel said many districts are still spending previous rounds of money and added, “We are only a little over three months into the school year.”
But Oregon schools have not wasted much time getting capital projects funded, some of which include renovating running tracks, getting weight training equipment and upgrading playgrounds.
- Oregon Capital Chronicle is a nonprofit Salem-based news service that focuses its reporting on Oregon state government, politics and policy.
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To see how and how much Lincoln County School District spent in federal emergency relief money, go here