Thanks to federal stimulus funding received as a response to COVID-19, the Warren County R-III School District will be able to maintain some of its programming that was previously at risk of being …
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Thanks to federal stimulus funding received as a response to COVID-19, the Warren County R-III School District will be able to maintain some of its programming that was previously at risk of being eliminated.
School board members met on April 22 for a work session to discuss how the district would allocate remaining funds from ESSER 2, the second round of stimulus money. They also planned ahead for how to use money from ESSER 3, a third payment that is anticipated in the fall. It is estimated that the latter stimulus will be around $5 million.
Superintendent Dr. Gregg Klinginsmith said there are conditions tied to usage of the money, including showing need and expenses up front.
“The only way to get the money is to spend it first,” said Klinginsmith. “For the remainder of the ESSER 2 funds we have to spend it to get the money back.”
There are also particular areas in which the school district is designated to use the funding.
Among the affected services in the district will be the transportation department, which is expanding bus pickup service to a one-mile radius again, after it had previously been pushed out to 2.5 miles. That service will be maintained through the 2023-24 school year.
Another significant impact is the district’s ability to maintain its current agricultural programming, which had been part of a package of cuts approved in the fall.
“We won’t be cutting any programming at the high school level,” said Klinginsmith.
Part of the ESSER funds will be used to preserve the district’s second agricultural teaching position beyond next school year, after a community-raised grant fund for the position runs its course.
“What we’re trying to do with these funds is spread them out over three years to give us some stability both financially and in staffing,” said Klinginsmith. “With everything that’s happened in the past year, we want people to feel secure in their jobs and situations.”
He said R-III will also be fixing as much infrastructure as possible with the funds.
“We think there will be enough funds to take care of our HVAC needs throughout the entire district,” said Klinginsmith. “We are also looking at repairing our roofing.”
Twenty percent of the ESSER funds are required to be spent on learning loss recovery. Part of this effort will be keeping the Alpha Academy building open, after it was slated to close due to budget cuts.
“We are going to hire an additional teacher in each building to use at the principal’s discretion with struggling students,” said Klinginsmith.
R-III will also hire another therapist. These positions will be maintained for three years to address the student failure rate, which has been much higher during the 2020-21 school year.
An administrative and counseling position that were going to be cut at the high school will now also be maintained.
“Now we’ll be able to keep all those services available for students who need it,” said Klinginsmith.
Additionally, the district will purchase a credit recovery system to increase rigor as it relates to obtaining a diploma.
Klinginsmith said there should be considerable funding remaining after the already planned expenses.
“We still anticipate having about $1 million to put into a fund balance and hold onto those funds for future needs,” said Klinginsmith. “It frees up money for other bond projects. We needed to free up bond money for a no-tax-increase bond issue in the future, so these funds are very helpful.”