PLAN FOR USES OF FUNDS

PART 1 – STATEGIES FOR PREVENTION AND MITIGATION OF COVID

• Replacing Boiler/Chiller in the Auditorium
• Air Quality Ionization Units for all HVAC units
• Replacing HVAC controls at Lincoln Elementary
• HVAC Filter Service
• Nurses Salaries/Benefits
• Room Disinfecting and Sanitizing Fogger Units

The above items will help the district to improve the quality of the air that our students are breathing. The boiler/chiller will replace a similar unit that has failed and cannot be repaired. The ionization units remove particles from the air including COVID and other allergens. The controls will be replacing parts that are in desperate need of upgrading which will allow each room to be managed for a classes specific needs. The filter service will take the increased workload off of our maintenance staff as we go forward. This service will replace all filter in the district on a regular basis which helps the HVAC units to perform at optimum levels. The nurses will help to decrease an ever increasing workload by assisting in individual student attention, tracking of cases, monitoring, and helping our district to continue to be compliant with CDC recommendations. The room disinfecting/sanitizing fogger units will replace previous methods of pre and post treating of facilities. These units will clean all surfaces in all classrooms, bathrooms, offices and anywhere students or staff could be exposed.

PART 2 – STRATEGIES FOR ADDRESSING LEARNING LOSS

• Educational Interventionists Salaries/Benefits
• Learning Management System IT Supervisor Salary/Benefits
• Leader In Me yearly dues
• Orton-Gillingham Training
• Vocabulary.com license renewal
• Schoology (LMS), Safari Montage, USA Test Prep licensing fees

The educational interventionists are an effort to reach at-risk students who have fallen behind due to the pandemic. The interventionists will provide much needed one-on-one and small group instruction to those that have fallen behind. Our Learning Management System, Schoology, gives our students a helpful platform to assist their education in the event of a school shutdown. Schoology is also an integral part of our in-person classes which aids student familiarity for those times when we are not in session. The funds we have set aside pay for an IT supervisor that works exclusively with this platform. The Leader In Me program has been a mainstay in our district for many years. This program not only encourages each student to take responsibility for their own actions and education but greatly enhances their social emotional well-being. This program includes SEL lessons and supports at all site levels. Along with Schoology, we are using multiple online programs that are evidence based interventions at all sites. Many of these platforms focus on literacy which is an area that most students are lacking due to the pandemic. Staff will provide focused, intensive, and explicit instruction in small-groups for at-risk leaners in five core reading areas: phonological awareness, phonics, reading fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. The Instructional Coaches and the IT LMS Supervisor provide specific guidance and share best practices for teachers at each site involving these programs. Our teachers will go through OG training which is another means to provide enrichment for our students.

PART 3 – Other ARP ESSER III Expenditures

• Chromebooks
• School Route Buses
• Suburbans
• IT Systems Upgrades

We will continue to purchase Chromebooks to replace older ones and to keep up with new enrollment for the purpose of allowing for distance learning as needed. The purchase of school route buses will alleviate transportation issues we face due to an aging fleet and the inability to acquire parts for the older buses. The Suburbans can be used to assist with delivering meals, chromebooks, and other educational materials to students by personnel that do not have a CDL. The funds used for IT Systems upgrades will allow us to replace the wireless infrastructure in our district. This will enhance our ability to maintain distance learning opportunities when a need arises.  

PART 4 – Ensuring Most Vulnerable Populations Unique Needs Are Addressed

• Mental Health Coordinator
• Leader In Me yearly dues

The mental health coordinator collaborates with each building’s counselors, the district’s homeless liaison, our SpEd director, and our EL coordinator. This team  will collaborate with teachers throughout the entire district to identify students with academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs. This group places special emphasis on students of marginal groups including but not limited to English learners, special needs students, student’s from differing racial backgrounds, those experiencing homelessness, students in the foster care system, and economically disadvantaged families. Ways in which students will receive assistance will be specific educational assistance based upon teacher observation, testing, and communication. Students that are identified as low-income will be provided with support of whatever is needed for them achieve at the highest levels. Those students that are in special populations will be given support by this team to give the feeling of safety and security. The Leader In Me program has been a mainstay in our district for many years. This program not only encourages each student to take responsibility for their own actions and education but greatly enhances their social emotional well-being. This program includes SEL lessons and supports at all site levels.

ARP (ESSER III)

EXPENDITURES TO ADDRESS LEARNING LOSS

(Academic, Social & Emotional Needs)

UPDATE for FY 23

Below is a list of expenditures that our district feels is the best path to address the losses derived from this pandemic. By law, we are to expend a minimum of 20%  (app. $880,000.00) of the ARP funds in this area. These funds will be available until September of 2024. With the amounts budgeted for this FY and projected for next year, we will spend between 30% and 40% of our ARP funds on learning loss. This will substantially cover the 20% minimum.

We are still awaiting the delivery of our buses and expeditions that were purchased this last winter. These amounts have been altered somewhat. The IT work has been or is in final stages of completion. The HVAC project at Lincoln is complete while the AVRA Center is still finishing up. The DRI-GEN foggers for disinfecting and sanitizing were highly successful and we have been able to move some of the funds originally set for transportation to purchase 4 more units that will be used to cover all district facilities. The HVAC filter service will continue with twice a year replacement and inspections. We still have the Air Quality Ionization units for each HVAC system is still in the budget for this year.

At this juncture of budget planning, we still have $176,000 and change left. This amount will be probably budgeted as chromebooks for the time being. This amount can be used recoded and used elsewhere as necessary.

Once again, as with all federal and state monies, we are bound by law and a certain set of criteria as to what we can purchase with these funds.

ARP (ESSER III)

UPDATE for FY 24

In our final year of the ARP – ESSER III money, it is our intent to continue with the salaries of our Mental Health Coordinator, Elementary Interventionists, and School Nurses that were paid last year. We also are committing funds to cover the fees with Leader in Me, Safari Montage, Schoology (Power School), and Progress Learning.  Each of these are associated with helping combat learning loss from COVID.  We are awaiting the conclusion of the HVAC Replacement Project at the High School Auditorium which is used by all levels of our district.  The district will also be paying for another year of HVAC filter service throughout the district. The remainder will be used to purchase more chromebooks as the time for some of those purchased in the past will need to be replaced going forward.

The following show a breakdown of the costs for each of the above described items:

MENTAL HEALTH COORDINATOR (SALARY)                              $101,909.00

MENTAL HEALTH COORDINATOR (BENEFITS)                                34,643.04

ELEMENTARY INTERVENTIONISTS (SALARY)                              186,305.00

ELEMENTARY INTERVENTIONISTS (BENEFITS)                             63,332.69

ELEMENTARY NURSES (SALARY)                                                     103,957.00

ELEMENTARY NURSES (BENEFITS)                                                    35,339.24

LEADER IN ME DUES                                                                              78,135.00

SAFARI MONTAGE FEES                                                                        12,964.00

SCHOOLOGY FEES                                                                                  32,849.48

PROGRESS LEARNING                                                                            35,667.26

HVAC REPLACEMENT PROJECT                                                          81,926.24

SOFTWARE UPGRADE INSTALLATION FEES                                     2,500.00

HVAC FILTER SERVICE (APPROX.)                                                      30,000.00

CHROMEBOOK REPLACEMENT (APPROX.)                                     279,704.93

                                                                                                              $1,079,232.88

This is the final amount we have to budget from the AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT that was provided beginning in 2021.  We will be finished expending this money at the end of this fiscal year.  There may be some switching of amounts between the HVAC Filter Service and the Chromebooks pot of money since we have not received this years quote for the filter service.