Senator Moore Praises $40 Million Covid Relief For Bridgeport Schools

From Jacqueline Rabe Thomas, CT Mirror:

Schools district officials throughout Connecticut were informed Friday how the state plans to divvy up the bulk of the $520.7 million the state will receive to help schools with the additional costs of teaching during the pandemic.

The state plans to funnel $443.2 million to local districts, the minimum Congress required Connecticut to send to local districts when it passed the legislation in late December. Of the remaining emergency funding for education, $15.8 million must go to help non-public schools here and the rest–$61.7 million–the state has wide discretion over, though it must be spent on education. The administration of Gov. Ned Lamont has not yet announced how it intends to spend that money.

The money announced Friday is largely being funneled to the state’s largest districts, which have seen attendance suffer the worst during the pandemic and are much less likely to be offering their students the opportunity to attend school in-person and full-time, compared to their neighboring suburbs.

Full story here.

From State Senator Marilyn Moore:

State Senator Marilyn Moore (D-Bridgeport) said she is relieved to see the release of $492.43 million in federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funds throughout Connecticut, including over $41 million in funds in the 22nd district. That funding is dedicated to targeting and reducing educational disparities among students that have been further exacerbated from the pandemic, with possible uses including additional classroom supports, intensive tutoring, and enhanced summer school programming.

“This is much-needed news for our district,” said Sen. Moore. “There are over 40 million dollars heading to help children in Bridgeport receive the education they deserve. Resources have been tight and our children need more help during the pandemic and I am thankful to our Connecticut Federal Delegation for securing funding to make sure each student has an equal opportunity to learn.”

In Sen. Moore’s district, Bridgeport is receiving $40,569,188 in funding, Trumbull is receiving $703,860 in funding, and Monroe is receiving $512,143 in funding with an additional $84,905 in funding going to District No. 9 in Monroe.

Connecticut received $492.43 million in funding in the latest allotment, increasing total Emergency Relief Funds received to just over $600 million. As part of the federal Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 90 percent of the funding will be allocated to municipal education groups, while the remaining 10 percent will be used for state-level activities.

Approved uses of the funds include coordinating improved COVID-19 response, prevention and preparation efforts; addressing learning loss among students, including groups seen to experience increased learning loss such as low-income students, children with disabilities, English learners, racial and ethnic minorities, students experiencing homelessness and children and youth in foster care; addressing individual schools’ needs; improving sanitation on school campuses; and improving indoor air quality in schools while reducing the risk of environmental health hazards, among others.