U.S. school districts rushing to spend pandemic relief funds as deadline looms

09/03/2024 / By Laura Harris

Many school districts across the United States may be forced to return millions of dollars to the U.S. Treasury if they fail to spend their remaining post-Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) relief funds this September.

In 2021, the Department of Education distributed a total of $122 billion in three phases as part of the American Rescue Plan’s Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) program to aid in learning recovery, rebuilding the educator workforce and ensuring safe school operations.

However, the Edunomics Lab of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., which tracks the spending of ESSER funds, recently reported that nine school districts each have a remaining balance of more than $30 million.

Syracuse City in New York has the smallest remaining balance among the nine school districts, having used 68.4 percent of its allocated $108.86 million. Clark County in Nevada has the largest despite already spending 95.4 percent of its $1.2 billion allocation. Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) in Wisconsin has used 72.5 percent of its $786.41 million in ESSER funding, with plans to spend the remaining amount in the coming months. (Related: Atlanta prosecutor sentenced for STEALING pandemic relief funds.)

In an email to the Epoch Times, the Education Department confirmed that there would be no extension of the expenditure deadline beyond Sept. 30, nor would any leftover funds be transferred to a reserve account. Fortunately, school districts can request additional time to liquidate their funds if the expenditures are approved by the Sept. 30 deadline.

Now, many school districts are racing against time to allocate their remaining funds effectively.

For instance, Hillsborough County Public Schools in Florida has spent 85.3 percent of its $766.23 million in ESSER funds, with plans to allocate the remaining $19 million toward curriculum, school supplies and IT improvements. Dallas Independent School District (DISD) has spent 66.9 percent of its $846.78 million allocation. Unlike other districts, the remaining balance of DISD is attributed to funds from the first two phases of ESSER, with over $61 million left to be spent.

Other major school districts with remaining balances above $30 million include Minneapolis, which only spent 62 percent of $249.40 million; Newark, New Jersey, which spent 83.4 percent of $277.08 million; DeKalb County, Georgia, which spent 76.7 percent of $486.57 million; and Stockton, California, which spent 79.6 percent of $241.56 million.

School districts not submitting reimbursement claims despite already spending their ESSER funds

According to a news release from the Edunomics Lab, some districts failed to spend their grants on time and had to return the money in the previous rounds of ESSER funding. Some districts have already spent their ESSER funds but have not yet submitted claims for reimbursement to their respective State Education agencies.

And now, with the final phase deadline fast approaching, many districts are “cutting it close.” However, the lab stated that waiting until the last minute could be risky – leaving little time to address issues if an expense gets denied, if there is an accounting error, or if staffing challenges arise in the finance department.

“With one month left on this 42-month grant, many districts are cutting it close. Is it worth spending ESSER down to the final penny? Depends on who you ask. Spending for the sake of spending can seem wasteful,” the news release said. “Then again, try telling a kindergarten teacher that you send the money back instead of replacing that dirty old circle-time rug that little Sophia threw up on last week. Or the PTA chair who spent countless hours getting the kids to sell chocolate to pay for honor roll prizes.”

The news release also highlighted the dilemma faced by districts as they balance the need for responsible spending with the risk of losing vital funds.

Corruption.news has more stories about the embezzlement of COVID-19 relief funds.

Watch this Fox News report that talks about five agents of the Internal Revenue Service being charged with COVID-19 relief fraud.

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