Education

The Anchorage School District will get over $112 million in additional COVID-19 relief. How will it be spent?

The Anchorage School District is expecting upward of $112 million in federal relief from the American Rescue Plan, its third sum of relief funds since the start of the pandemic.

ASD will receive $112,451,632, according to state documents. The money will be available to the district after July 1. Andy Ratliff, senior director of management and budget for the district, said it must be used by September 2024.

So what can the $112 million in federal funds be spent on?

Federal guidelines say 20% — about $22.5 million — must be used to address learning loss, which Ratliff said could include summer school, before- and after-school programs, and “specific targeted interventions for students that need to get up to grade level or need more support,” he said.

“The other 80% is pretty flexible,” Ratliff said. “There are quite a few different things we can spend that on.”

A fact sheet from the U.S. Department of Education says it can be used “for a wide range of activities to address needs arising from the coronavirus pandemic.”

That portion — adding up to almost $90 million — could be spent on facility repairs, mental health resources, education technology for remote learning, sanitation supplies as well as retaining staff.

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[Alaska will get a massive injection of money from the COVID-19 aid bill. Here’s where it’ll go.]

While the district faces declining enrollment, Ratliff said staff retention is vital. He said the district believes students will come back, so instead of “laying off a bunch of people,” they can use some of the federal funds to keep staff employed.

ASD has already received more than $62 million in federal coronavirus relief funds through previous bills passed by Congress.

The first sum of federal relief money was around $12 million and went toward technology for students, personal protective equipment, summer school and other costs.

The second portion was just over $50 million. According to Anchorage School Board documents, more than half of that — nearly $29 million — was used to avoid laying off teachers, and the rest went toward laptops and internet for students, sanitation supplies, gloves, masks, summer school opportunities and other district needs.

Ratliff said the $12 million must be spent by September 2022; the $50 million has to be used by September 2023.

[Many families have chosen home school during the pandemic. In Alaska, the rate is especially high.]

The school district hosted a virtual town hall on the latest round of federal funds Wednesday night, a step required in order to receive the money. The district is also requesting feedback on how the funds should be spent through an online survey until June 2.

“We are just trying to figure out what the community values and what the consensus is on how we should spend the money — or what the best use of it is to get us back up to speed,” Ratliff said.

After the district administration establishes its plan for using the money, the plan will be submitted to the Anchorage School Board in late July or early August. The board will review the plan before approval. After that, Ratliff said, the application is submitted to the state.

Samantha Davenport

Samantha Davenport is a former ADN reporter.

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