After receiving millions of dollars in federal emergency pandemic funding since 2020, school districts across the nation, including those in Wisconsin, have just over a month left to spend the rest of that money.
School districts received three rounds of funds from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund grant program. The first round was authorized in March 2020 under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act. The second round was authorized in December 2020 by the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act. The third and final round was authorized in March 2021 by the American Rescue Plan Act. The funds must be allocated by the end of September.
Georgetown University’s Edunomics Lab has tracked ESSER spending by school districts nationwide. In Wisconsin, categories in which the database tracked spending included:
- After-school and summer learning
- Long-term school closures
- Educational technology
- Mental health services and supports
- Outreach/service delivery to special populations
Here’s how much money from ESSER went to Milwaukee Public Schools and some of the larger suburban Milwaukee area school districts and what the districts spent that money on.
Milwaukee Public Schools
Through the three rounds of ESSER funding, Milwaukee Public Schools received a total of about $786.42 million. As of June 17, the most recent data available, the district had spent about $570.23 million, or 72%, of those funds, according to information from Georgetown University’s Edunomics Lab.
For ESSER I funding, MPS received $41 million. At the time of the funding, which came at the beginning of the pandemic, the district moved to virtual learning, according to an email from Nicole Armendariz, MPS director of communications and marketing.
The district used the money to:
- Purchase technology such as Google Chromebooks for students
- Provide internet access for virtual learning
- Purchase personal protective equipment such as masks
- Address air-quality issues at each school to prepare to return to in-person instruction
The district received much more funding in ESSER II — $225 million. That money was planned for during budget season, with community input provided during the budget process and board meetings. The money funded investments such as:
- Science textbook adoption for kindergarten through eighth grade and high school students, and reading resource adoptions for kindergarten through eighth-grade students. The district held trainings on the textbooks and resources throughout the summer and first semester. It also offered professional development sessions to all schools in reading, science, math, writing, planning for biliteracy and advanced academics.
- Contracting with Instruction Partners for year-long support with curriculum implementation across content areas and specific support with the reading and science adoptions.
- Improving air quality in schools. ESSER II funding expired Sept. 30, 2023.
The district received its largest allocation during ESSER III. It received $506 million, and, under federal requirements, had to reserve 20% of the funds for mitigating learning loss. The district held student listening sessions during summer school, stakeholder meetings and five community listening sessions, conducted a survey, created an ESSER MPS email for feedback and held town hall meetings in preparing its budget and prioritizing funding, Armendariz wrote.
The district also sent out communications about its ESSER III budget “through social media, the MPS website, text messages to families, emails, media releases, public notices, and Board meetings,” she wrote.
ESSER III funds were used to:
- Provide additional Chromebooks to all schools
- Upgrade schools’ indoor and outdoor athletic facilities
- Provide tutoring, out-of-school camps, free sports physicals and free drivers education.
Armerndariz also said $100,000 was allocated to all schools to spend on allowable ESSER III activities that best met student and staff needs. All schools also received $25,000 for after-school clubs and $4,999 each year for mental health services and support.
The district has cut nearly 300 staff positions as part of its 2024-25 budget, in part due to the ESSER funding ending. About 130 of those positions were school support teachers who mentor and train new teachers. All employees whose positions were cut were offered already established staff positions elsewhere in the district.
Waukesha School District
The district received about $19.12 million total over the three ESSER funding rounds.
For ESSER I, the district received about $1.21 million. According to a district presentation, here’s how the district spent that money:
- Learning recovery: teacher and substitute salaries and software and technology
- COVID-19 response: medical and cleaning supplies and online communications
- Private school share
For ESSER II, the district received $7.12 million. It spent those funds on:
- Learning recovery: tailored acceleration and tutoring; instructional materials/textbooks and summer school
- HVAC work
- Budget balancing
- COVID response and indirect expenses
For ESSER III, the district received $10.79 million. It spent those funds on:
- heating, ventilation and air conditioning improvements
- Learning recovery: social and emotional support, teacher training and instructional materials
The district does not anticipate any layoffs because of ESSER funding ending, according to the district’s chief financial officer, Darren Clark.
He also said most of the district’s spending was focused on one-time costs such as HVAC improvements, new curriculum and instructional materials.
Clark said all of the district’s ESSER funds were spent as of June 30.
West Allis-West Milwaukee School District
The district has received $23.13 million over the three rounds of ESSER funding, and has spent $21.58 million so far, just over 93% of its allocation, according to the Edunomics Lab’s database.
For ESSER I, the district received $1.66 million. Some of the largest amounts were:
- $389,940 for a portion of an iPad lease payment related to the district’s one-to-one elementary school initiative to provide iPads to each elementary school student
- $109,943 to pay for 28 health monitors who worked between Oct. 1, 2020, and June 24, 2021.
For ESSER II, the district received about $6.61 million. The largest amounts included:
- $1.57 million covering hazard support pay for teacher/educational assistants/support staff; additional sanitation and prevention wages for custodial staff and additional clerical staff
- $988,547 for teacher and district staff retention bonuses
- $889,449 for items such as air purification filtering units; custodial sanitation equipment; water bottle filling stations; plexiglass partitions; an automatic external defibrillator; outdoor benches for outdoor classes; and other miscellaneous items
- $300,411 for Clorox for machines, drums of hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes for hard surfaces, disinfecting wipes for people, stickers, sanitizing sprays and gels, and other supplies
- $216,030 for surveillance cameras for school buildings and $48,584 for a visitor identification system
- $219,615 for classroom computer projectors and speakers and computers for school computer labs.
For ESSER III, the district received about $14.86 million. Some of the largest expenses included:
- $3.63 million for plant maintenance and operations staff during the pandemic
- $882,768 for Chromebooks to support the district’s one-to-one device initiative for the district’s sixth- through 12th-grade students
- $811,088.51 to refresh the computer hardware in the secondary school computer labs
- $431,158 for another iPad lease payment related to the school’s one-to-one elementary school initiative
- $323,147 for computer software; $281,147 for standards aligned math and science curriculum and $42,000 for Edgenuity Software to conduct non-live instruction
- $205,440 for Intro to Math textbooks and textbooks for an Advanced Placement classroom.
West Allis-West Milwaukee School District communications director Carolyn Hahn said the district does not anticipate any layoffs once ESSER funding ends.
Wauwatosa School District
The district received about $6.15 million over its three rounds of ESSER funding. As of June 17, the district had spent about $5.2 million of that money.
For ESSER I, the district received $333,338. According to district communications director Sarah Ellis, the district spend the funds on:
- nursing services
- technology including document cameras, desktop scanners, laptops and Chromebooks
The district received $2.6 million for ESSER II funding and spent it on:
- Staffing, including substitutes and nursing
- Professional learning, including teachers college and associated supplies; an English language arts professional learning contract
- Cleaning and environmental services
- One-year subscription to Eduverse School
- Technology, including Chromebook carts, classroom cameras, computer monitors, 125 BenQ Boards, batteries, chargers, wall chargers, cable grip floor cable cover cords cable protector and LockNCharge towers.
- Furniture for students
- Cell phone lockers
- Library books, including new books and replacement of books that were lost during the pandemic.
- Buildings and grounds work truck (partial payment using ESSER II funds)
The district received $3.21 million in funding for ESSER III. It spent those funds on:
- Staffing: advanced and gifted (talent development) coordinators, elementary academic specialists, increasing mental health support specialists at the secondary level, elementary behavioral specialists, director of student success, part-time special education teacher for 18- to 21-year-old student services.
- Alternative curricular resources for special education students
- Professional learning, including professional learning for all staff in alcohol, tobacco and other drugs; English language arts professional learning
- Enhancement of school culture opportunities
- Emergency radios for school use
- Two passenger vans
- Payment of library subscriptions to restock libraries with new books
- Buildings and grounds work truck (partial payment using ESSER III funds)
Ellis noted the district plans to maintain staffing that was made possible by ESSER III funding and does not anticipate any layoffs.
Elmbrook School District
The district received almost $5.48 million over the three rounds of ESSER funding. As of June 17, the most recent round of data available, the district had spent about $5.1 million of those funds, according to the Edunomics Lab.
According to an Elmbrook School District presentation, the districts ESSER I and II funds were primarily used for COVID-19 prevention measures that included:
- increased air filtration
- remote access technology solutions
- mitigation strategies to support in-person learning
- additional staffing expenses
The district focused its ESSER III funds on learning support needs districtwide, according to chief strategy officer Chris Thompson. It also used its annual budget process to consider students’ ongoing needs and prioritized continuing those needs, such as reading interventionists. Dollars were shifted from lower priorities to continue these positions, Thompson said.
“Our budget is always balanced; there are no concerns with the end of ESSER funds regarding that funding source,” Thompson said.
Where to find details about your district
If your district is not listed here, visit edunomicslab.org/esser-spending/ and click “Wisconsin.” That pulls up four links: one with all Wisconsin school districts’ total ESSER funding and spending; one with all Wisconsin school districts’ total ESSER I funding and spending; one with all Wisconsin school districts’ total ESSER II funding and spending and one with all Wisconsin school districts’ total ESSER III funding and spending.
You may also visit the website of the school district in the area you live to see whether they have such information posted.
Contact Alec Johnson at (262) 875-9469 or alec.johnson@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AlecJohnson12.