Brewster Schools To Receive Aid Under Coronavirus Relief Plan

BREWSTER, NY -Through the American Rescue Plan, the federal government will send more than $2.5 billion to school districts in New York, including $3.4 million for Brewster.

The $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package will help keep essential workers on the job, assist struggling families and small businesses, and make critical investments in infrastructure.

The package also contains $2.5 billion for New York schools upstate of New York City, including $623,973,000 in education aid for Hudson Valley districts.

Under President Joe Biden's plan, districts will, among other things, be able to: fill budget gaps, address learning loss, meet the needs of students with disabilities, assist students experiencing homelessness, and provide summer enrichment and afterschool programs.

"Everyone wants schools to reopen completely and for our children to be able to return to the classroom, but it needs to be done in a way that is safe for students, families, educators, and learning institutions," U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said in a statement Wednesday.

The coronavirus pandemic cost a year of learning and development for students — challenges disproportionately felt by students of color, students from low-income families, and students with disabilities, Schumer said.

Senator Shelley Mayer (D-Westchester) said she is committed to making sure all the federal aid will be used to supplement, rather than replace, state funding.

"This unprecedented federal funding will put us on the right path to recover from the devastation our school communities faced during the pandemic," said Mayer, chair of the Senate Education Committee.

As the pandemic sucked up state resources, district officials, who were warned that state education aid might have to be cut by 20 percent for 2021-22, welcomed the funding infusion.

"School districts have been forced to respond to the pandemic in a variety of creative ways," said Richard Del Moro, superintendent of the Middletown City School District. "This funding will be used to support the continued emphasis on the health, safety, and well-being of our students."

One local school district is slated to get a vast amount of money: East Ramapo. The district, in a Rockland County community where about 9,000 children go to the public schools and another 28,000 attend local yeshivas, is receiving the fourth highest payout in the state, $162 million — behind only New York City, Buffalo and Rochester and more than Syracuse and Yonkers, the fourth and fifth largest cities in New York. A spokesperson for Schumer's office said the district allocations were based solely on Title I, a formula based on the total number of school-age children in a district who live in poverty.

Here is the district-by-district breakdown for Putnam County school systems:

• Brewster Central School District: $3,399,000
• Carmel Central School District: $2,842,000
• Garrison Union Free School District: $232,000
• Haldane Central School District: $182,000
• Lakeland Central School District: $1,526,000
• Mahopac Central School District: $1,169,000
• Putnam Valley Central School District: $1,115,000

Editor's Note: The Hudson Valley is receiving $624 million in federal education aid. The number was incorrect in the original version of this report because a digit was left out. Patch regrets the error.