Council Rock Details Spending Plan For Stimulus Funding

NEWTOWN, PA — Administrators at Council Rock School District have outlined how they intend to spend approximately $3 million in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds from the federal government.

Since the spring of 2020, all public schools in the U.S. have received three grants as part of the ESSER funds included in federal stimulus packages.

Council Rock used its first batch of ESSER funding, totaling around $257,000, to pay for two years of digital subscriptions for software and professional development for staff when teachers were forced to shift to virtual instruction.

Since then, the district has received $1 million from the ESSER II funds and $2.2 million from the third round of funding included in the American Rescue Plan.

During the Council Rock School Board meeting Thursday night, Susan Elliott, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning, outlined how the district plans to spend those remaining funds.

The district will use 20 percent of the ARP ESSER funds to expand its summer academy to K-12 for the next three years. It will also use the funds to support transportation for COVID-19 Compensatory Services provided to students with individualized education plans during the summer.

Additionally, Council Rock will use the balance of funds from both grants to support six technology integration specialists.

As a condition of receiving the funding, the district is required to get feedback from staff, students and parents, Elliott said. Two things that stood out were the need to target learning loss, particularly for students with the greatest need, and concerns over screen time.

"We don’t want our students when they’re back in school in the fall to be sitting with their screens open all day long," Elliot said. "Technology is a tool and we want to use the tool effectively, but it’s not the only tool we use."

The district is currently seeking feedback on its ARP ESSER Plan. To submit feedback, email ARPESSER@crsd.org.

Be the first to know what's happening in your town and area. Sign up to get Patch emails and don't miss a minute of local and state news: https://patch.com/subscribe