Burlington

BASD makes plans for relief funds

District to survey residents in January

By Ed Nadolski

Editor in Chief

Burlington Area School District residents will soon have a chance to weigh in on the district’s plan for spending the upcoming round of federal pandemic recovery funds.

Superintendent Stephen Plank on Monday presented the plan to the School Board and said the next step will be a survey of residents likely in January regarding the administration’s proposal for spending an estimated $3.4 million in ESSER III funds, which stands for Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief.

The survey will be offered electronically and be available to parents of students as well as district residents through a link on the BASD website, according to Plank.

Although the process is “fluid” and could change, he said the goal is to have the survey results processed and ready for consideration by the School Board in February. Board approval is needed for the district to formally pursue the funds, Plank said.

This is the third round of ESSER funding with the first two coming in March and December of 2020. Funds from the pending round must be spent by the district before September 2024.

The goal of the plan, Plank said, is to address deficiencies in instruction and learning environment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic without creating a fiscal cliff for programs that would otherwise be sustained under the district’s regular funding limits.

“We really have to make certain we’re being fiscally responsible,” Plank said, noting the funds will be gone in a little over two years.

To see the district’s entire proposal following this link: BASD ESSER plan

      To read the full version of this story see the Dec. 16 edition of the Burlington Standard Press.

 

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