Schools outline coronavirus relief spending

Lincoln County schools are set to receive an infusion of federal funds thanks to recent coronavirus relief legislation.

Libby Public Schools and Troy Public Schools are deciding how to spend the $1,672,528 and $799,420 they were allocated respectively as part of the second iteration of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund.

An even greater chunk of change from the recently approved ESSER III fund likely will soon land in local school coffers. The Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI) has not yet announced how the roughly $400 million in federal funding will be distributed among districts.

The ESSER II funds, which allocated $54.3 billion to schools across the nation, according to OPI, were distributed as part of the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act 2021 signed by former President Donald Trump in December. The ESSER III fund, which will distribute $122.8 billion in education relief across the country according to OPI, is part of the American Rescue Plan Act signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11.

Speaking at a March 8 board meeting, Libby Superintendent Ron Goodman said legislators outlined perimeters under which the district would be allowed to spend the ESSER money. But even with these restrictions, Goodman said local administrators would be able to use the funds to address pressing maintenance and infrastructure needs.

“My understanding is that … we can repair some roofs with it, we can do some [heating, ventilation and air conditioning] work with it,” he said.

The district could also allocate ESSER funds towards addressing coronavirus-related learning loss.

During a March 9 interview, Troy Superintendent Jacob Francom said that he anticipated his district would also use its funds to bolster infrastructure. HVAC systems along with roofing, doors and windows are high on Troy’s list. Francom mentioned the district might funnel some of the money into creating a robust summer school program.

In addition to ESSER II and III funds, local districts received just over $1.4 million in coronavirus-related funding last year.

Libby and Troy schools benefited from two pots of coronavirus aid money in 2020: the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) distributed by former Gov. Steve Bullock and the ESSER I program allocated by OPI.

Last July, Bullock announced the state would set aside $75 million through the CRF to help districts across the state reopen in the fall. Of this amount, the state distributed $65 million to schools based on their student counts. State officials set aside the remaining $10 million to assist schools with additional transportation costs throughout the fall.

Libby District Clerk Leslie Forster said Libby schools received $627,023 as part of the CRF allocation based on student counts. The district spent $540,388 of the funds on supply costs. These included technology, sanitization, food service and protective equipment purchases and HVAC upgrades. The remaining $86,635 went to staffing costs, according to Forster. Janitorial personnel, substitutes for quarantine staff, food service and professional development costs were included in this amount.

To assist with transportation, the state allocated $5,600 in CRF funds to Libby, according to Forster.

A caveat of the CRF was that districts had to spend the funds by Dec. 30, 2020. During a Dec. 8 school board meeting, Goodman said Libby Schools still needed to spend $340,000 of its allocation. These funds were slated for repairing Wi-Fi networks, purchasing heaters at the elementary school and supplying students and teachers with iPads and Chromebooks.

Troy schools received $200,694 as part of the student count portion of the CRF, according to Troy District Clerk Trinette Todd. The district spent $47,691.63 of the funds on personal service salaries, $5,933.20 on employee benefits, $51,185.59 in purchased professional and technical costs and $95,883 in supplies. Todd said the professional services included contracted services for speech therapists for students and continued development opportunities for staff and teachers.

Todd said state officials gave Troy schools a total of $28,014 in CRF funds to cover transportation.

In April, the OPI announced Montana had received a total of $41.3 million from the U.S. Department of Education to support school districts through the ESSER I fund.

Libby Schools received $379,116 out of the ESSER I fund, according to Forster. The district has budgeted $272,869 of the funds to bring its remote learning technology and sanitization services up to speed. School Chromebooks, iPads and other devices will receive updates and internal servers will undergo upgrades. The district’s cleaning supplies and equipment will be updated as well.

Libby schools administrators anticipate spending $50,530 of the ESSER I funds to temporarily employ two additional custodians. The district budgeted $27,500 for professional development to help teachers administer remote learning curriculums. Administrators put aside $20,217 of the funds for benefits for the two custodians. Staff participating in professional development outside of contracted days would also receive benefits from this pot. The district budgeted $8,000 of its allotment for indirect costs.

Troy Schools ESSER I allotment totaled $169,830, according to Todd. Budgeted supply costs at $87,830 eat up the largest portion of the allocation. The district plans to spend $35,000 on salaries to help pay for extra bus drivers, custodial personnel and distance learning staff. Administrators anticipate spending $15,000 for coronavirus-related professional development. Troy Schools will allocate $7,000 of the ESSER I fund to benefits, according to the budget.

Other miscellaneous purchases — including building and additional transportation costs — make up the rest of Troy’s ESSER I budget at $25,000.

School districts will be able to spend ESSER I funds until September 30, 2022, according to OPI. ESSER II and III funds will be available to schools until September 30, 2023.