NY schools have spent only about 20% of billions received in federal COVID aid. Advocates want them to pick up the pace. (Hempstead: unemployment, school district)
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The unspent Covid money will expire in 2024, so far schools have spent slightly under $3billion of the $14billion allocated to all NYS schools. Nassau and Suffolk schools received $520 million and they spent around 20%.
If they haven't spent it so far then do they need it? Hopefully this money that was designated for a specific purpose won't be wasted. Seems like they designated too much money to these schools.
Quote:
Public schools statewide have spent only about 20% of federal COVID-19 relief money provided over the past 2 1/2 years to address student learning loss and other issues, according to state and private reports.
On Long Island, a Newsday spot check of districts found a similar pattern.
Federal assistance is due to wind down in 2024, and experts said that makes the situation more urgent.
Since 2020, federal authorities have earmarked $14 billion in relief for schools throughout the state, including more than $520 million in Nassau and Suffolk counties. A substantial amount has been used to pay for student tutoring, psychological counseling and upgrades of air filtration systems, state and local records show
It’s quite possible a lot of taxpayer money was needlessly tossed in the direction of schools during the Covid-reaction era.
Anyone pointing that out at the time was faux-labelled a Covid denier. (So too were those who thought schools should stay open and outdoor youth sports should continue but that’s another story).
The schools are quite capable of manufacturing all sorts of needs (academic/social services for kids shortchanged by the closed/virtual school during the Covid reaction era, increased school security, etc).
Not expecting this current overage to reduce my property taxes.
Hopefully the districts will be fully accountable for WHERE the money was spent in terms of making sure it is directly related to the consequences of Covid. However living on LI I expect much of the money to have been spent on creating more administrator positions for the friends of the Superintendents.
The Mafia could only dream for the corruption of a LI School District.
How about just save it and use for teacher pensions, or teacher wages well into the future? This way hopefully will not need another bailout for the next two decades.
How about just save it and use for teacher pensions, or teacher wages well into the future? This way hopefully will not need another bailout for the next two decades.
Districts cant hold too much money in reserve. It is against the law. Eventhough if it is done right in a responsible way it could help reduce borrowing costs for big projects.
Does this figure also include money funneled through "America's Largest Township?" Hempstead Town received tons of covid money and had no idea how to spend it, because they weren't actually responsible for much of any covid-related functions- and "gave" some away to schools, villages, hospitals, etc.
I wonder if that money is under the same time constraints or already considered to be spent. Side note: some of it was returned to the town as unspent; I'm not sure if those funds went back into the same budget line as the other federally-regulated money or was effectively laundered and went straight back to the general fund.
How about just save it and use for teacher pensions, or teacher wages well into the future? This way hopefully will not need another bailout for the next two decades.
It expires next year and is not to be used for pension, needs to be Covid related but I wouldn’t want to see schools upgrading air conditioning systems or anything else. If they haven’t spent it at this time why do they need it. Just throwing money at solutions isn’t the best policy.
The best is the anti-science folks who screamed to shut the schools here in NY then screamed about needing money to fix the damage they did to the kids by (needlessly) shutting the schools. That crew still has neither apologized nor offered to pay for the damage they caused.
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