PHOENIX — President Joe Biden's coronavirus relief package delivered more than Arizona’s top education official expected.
“It was like opening presents this morning in my email,” state Superintendent Kathy Hoffman said Wednesday about the email she received from U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona.
Arizona’s allocation of $2.5 billion was half-a-billion dollars more than Hoffman had anticipated.
U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona says the K-12 funding from the American Rescue Plan is designed to help students, teachers and schools not only get past the pandemic but recover from it.
“The intent here is that the schools have the resources they need to make sure the environments are safe for learning and work and make sure they have more than just enough to keep the lights on,” Cardona said in an interview Wednesday with 12 News.
“We're still in the middle of (the pandemic) but we really need to think about what supports our students are going to need. That might mean more school counselors, more social workers to help our students come back from the pandemic and engage fully in their learning.”
Cardona is the former education commissioner for the State of Connecticut, as well as a former principal and teacher.
He likes to talk about the “4 R’s” in education - adding “relationships” to the usual three. Those relationships, he said, are vital as students return to school.
“The goal right now is to make sure that you feel safe, and that you’re building that sense of community together, and the students will thrive when we do that,” Cardona said.
The American Rescue Plan funds flow from Washington to Hoffman's state Department of Education, and then to Arizona school districts and charter schools that apply for the money in the form of grants.
“I've already talked to some of our district superintendents who have told me that this is truly a lifeline for them,” Hoffman said.
“This funding must be tied to a COVID-related need or expense…. Other than that it’s very flexible.”
Here's are three things to know about the enormous pot of new money:
Funds have to be spent to deal with the impact of COVID-19. That could mean new heating and cooling systems or pay raises to retain teachers, though Hoffman notes the raises might not be sustainable.
Many school districts will get millions of dollars - but many others won't. The money targets Title I school districts, whose students get free or reduced-priced meals.
Hoffman says districts and charters that don't meet the criteria should get at least $150,000 from a pool of supplemental funding.
-Private and parochial schools are eligible for federal dollars. That extends similar funding in the coronavirus relief legislation that President Trump signed last December.
Hoffman said her department was still working through grant applications for the two rounds of CARES Act funding last year. It could take up to two years to disburse all of the ARP money, she said.
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