BY SARAH THIEL, District Business Manager
Beginning in March 2020 school districts received federal funds to help meet the increased needs of students resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. This funding has been awarded in three separate rounds and is available to use through September 2024. When deciding how to invest the one-time federal funds, the district’s goal was to meet the immediate needs of students and staff, then invest in measures targeted at addressing learning loss.
In the spring/summer of 2020 the Iola-Scandinavia School District received $65,000 in the first round of funding, all of which had been used to purchase additional Chromebooks to make technology more accessible for the younger students in our district.
In the winter of 2020, the district was awarded $260,000 in the second round of funding. Investments were made in classroom and cafeteria furniture to allow for social distancing and flexible seating, additional technology resources and professional development. At the end of the 2020-21 school year approximately $100,000 of round 2 funds remain. These funds will be used to purchase instructional software over the next several school years to target learning loss at both schools in our district.
The third and final round of funding, $580,000 for Iola-Scandinavia, will be available in the near future and must be used on or before September 2024. The district will be using these funds for increased instructional support at both school buildings, summer school programing, professional development and potentially HVAC updates in our Technology Education area.
Budget plans are available on the district website and we invite community feedback. If you have questions on any of the federal funds and their impact on the Iola-Scandinavia School District please reach out to Sarah Thiel, business manager, or Ray Przekurat, district administrator.