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More on ESSER III Plan Approval
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | February 3, 2022
From WisPolitics.com …
The Joint Finance Committee has signed off on DPI’s plan to use a smaller pot of federal COVID-19 funds to reward districts that provided in-person instruction during the pandemic.The U.S. Department of Education rejected an earlier proposal from the GOP-controlled committee to use more of the money for the effort.DPI submitted the proposal to the committee last week through its 14-day passive review process. The committee notified the agency today that no members objected to the revised proposal, clearing the way for it to be implemented.In May, JFC approved using a portion of $114.6 million in federal COVID-19 funds to reward districts that provided in-person instruction for at least 50 percent of the 2020-21 school year.But the federal government objected to pulling $77 million for that effort from a pot of money that was earmarked for addressing learning loss. Those funds were required to target students disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.Under the revised plan:*$37.6 million will still go to districts that provided in-person instruction. That money is from an unrestricted pot of discretionary funds, and it will benefit 151 districts.*of the just more than $77 million that was earmarked for learning loss, $10 million will be set aside for two new grant programs. One will be a $5 million competitive grant program for districts and community-based organizations for services outside of school. The other $5 million will target high school students who have been chronically absent during the pandemic.*the remaining $67 million will be used to ensure that all districts receive a minimum per pupil amount and per pupil grant.State Superintendent Jill Underly and the GOP co-chairs of the committee sparred after the U.S. Education Department rejected the JFC’s initial proposal for the funds.Co-chairs Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, and Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, accused DPI of working “behind the scenes with their political counterparts in Washington D.C. to find ways to deny our efforts to reward schools that did the hard work of educating our kids in person during a pandemic.”Underly fired back their response was “disappointing, disingenuous, and nakedly political.”Today, Underly said she was heartened by JFC’s approval and called it “a perfect example of how we can work together to advance important issues related to schools.”See the DPI proposal here.
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