Report: Only a fifth of COVID-19 relief money went to lost school time

(The Center Square) – Only about a fifth of the total pandemic relief spending in fiscal year 2023 went directly to addressing the lost time in school due to government-mandated COVID-19 school closures, a federal report says.

The U.S. Department of Education report reveals how school districts spent billions of federal pandemic relief dollars appropriated by Congress to help the nation’s children recover from learning losses.

School districts prioritized spending to address students’ academic, social and emotional needs, as well as interventions for lost instruction due to COVID-19 closures, the Education Department said.

The agency’s fiscal year 2023 annual performance report accounts for how much of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds, or ESSER, were spent. The report said $23 billion was spent on students’ academic, social and emotional needs.

Districts spent $14.8 billion on operational continuity, $10 billion on physical health and safety, and $1.5 billion on mental health supports, for a total of over $49.3 billion in ESSER funds, the report said.

- Advertisement -

“Over the course of FY 2023, states spent $23 billion on meeting students’ academic, social, and emotional needs,” the report reads.

The analysis said local education agencies, known as LEAs, “spent more than $11 billion in ARP ESSER funding towards activities and interventions to address lost instructional time.”

States spent just $1 billion in the same fiscal year on tutoring.

The report also says federal funds allowed districts to hire teachers and school personnel.

“In FY 2023, nearly half of the ESSER funds expended by LEAs, totaling over $24 billion, supported salaries and benefits for educators and other LEA personnel,” the report reads. “Thanks in part to these investments, there are now more people working in America’s schools than at any time in the last decade.

“As of October 2024, local public schools have added 643,000 jobs since 2021, including 43% more social workers and 23% more nurses working in America’s schools to meet the needs of all students.”

- Advertisement -

While the number of jobs has increased in schools, the number of students enrolled in public schools has dropped since the beginning of the pandemic. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there was a 2.6% drop in enrollment between the fall of 2020 and the fall of 2022.

The report says schools also upgraded buildings with the influx of federal money.

“When faced with the Herculean task of reopening all schools for safe in-person instruction during a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, many LEAs chose to spend ESSER funding on school infrastructure and other capital investments to help ensure that students and staff could remain healthy and safe during in-person instruction,” the report reads.

That included upgrades like installing new heating and air conditioning systems or windows, as well as adding classrooms and building new bathrooms.

• This story first published at Chalkboard News which, like The Center Square, is published by the Franklin News Foundation

Hot this week

African and Caribbean Nations Call for Reparations for Slave Trade, Propose Global Fund

Nations across Africa and the Caribbean, deeply impacted by...

Sports betting expert offers advice on paying taxes for gambling winnings

(The Center Square) – Tax season is underway, and...

Health care company agrees to pay $22.5 million to settle claims of over billing

A health care company agreed to pay nearly $22.5...

Entertainment district benefits don’t outweigh the cost, economists say

(The Center Square) — Weeks later, after more details...

Business association ‘disappointed’ by WA L&I’s proposed workers comp rate hike

(The Center Square) – The Association of Washington Business...

Report questions utility of Trump’s steel tariffs

(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump’s unilateral tariffs...

Fuel prices absorb tariff talk spike, volatility

(The Center Square) – Fuel prices in North Carolina...

Minimum wage deal pending, set to increase to $12.48 Friday

(The Center Square) – A last-minute legislative compromise on...

Annual statewide audit reveals billions in questioned costs and mismanagement

(The Center Square) − The Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s latest...

Illinoisans can nominate and choose coolest products made in the state

(The Center Square) – Nominations are now being accepted...

Report: Mental health funding skips high-need areas

(The Center Square) - California’s mental health funding skips...

King Soopers strike continues as company calls for an agreement

(The Center Square) – The workers strike at King...

Sandhills transformer facility expansion aided by performance grant

(The Center Square) – North Carolina’s Commerce Department is...

More like this
Related

Report questions utility of Trump’s steel tariffs

(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump’s unilateral tariffs...

Fuel prices absorb tariff talk spike, volatility

(The Center Square) – Fuel prices in North Carolina...

Minimum wage deal pending, set to increase to $12.48 Friday

(The Center Square) – A last-minute legislative compromise on...

Annual statewide audit reveals billions in questioned costs and mismanagement

(The Center Square) − The Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s latest...