Here’s how Rock Hill, Fort Mill, York and Clover schools spent COVID-19 relief money
Editor’s note: Superintendents and board members from the York, Clover, Rock Hill and Fort Mill school districts met Jan. 7 in Fort Mill. This series of articles explores common issues that face them, including teacher shortages, COVID funding, state funding and impact fees.
COVID-19 brought countless surprises for area school districts. Schools shut down, went virtual, opened back. Schedules rearranged. Among those many unanticipated changes, COVID brought cash.
Yet even those relief funds vary quite a bit by district. Both in dollars received and how those districts choose to spend them.
Schools across South Carolina received federal CARES Act money to help navigate operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, or ESSER, money is restricted to costs districts can link to the pandemic like learning loss prevention, cleaning supplies, mental health services and summer learning.
Allocation of ESSER funds is based in part on demographics. The Rock Hill and Fort Mill school districts have about the same number of students. Rock Hill has a combined $54 million in already-allocated, current or future budgeted ESSER funds. Fort Mill has $8 million.
“We’re the lowest free and reduced lunch district in the state,” said Leanne Lordo, assistant superintendent over finance for the Fort Mill School District.
The funds also come in different cycles, which impacts how they’re spent. In the Clover School District, about half of the $790,000 in the first round of ESSER money went to technology. None of the almost $6.5 million in third round funding will go there.
“(The first round) was really focused on having all the digital needs met,” said Sheila Quinn, district superintendent.
The first round of funding came earlier in the pandemic, when many districts were still virtual. York County schools were largely in-person for the second round. Third round funding could impact projects this summer and beyond.
ESSER funds
The CARES Act became law in March 2020. Congress set aside $13.2 billion of more than $130 billion in ESSER funds for the first round. South Carolina got more than $216 million in ESSER I funding. Fort Mill received about $633,000 and Clover $790,000. York got almost $1.3 million and Rock Hill $3.9 million.
Those funds must be spent by Sept. 30.
In December 2020 another federal bill allocated $54.3 billion in ESSER II funding. South Carolina got more than $940 million. Rock Hill got $15.5 million and York got almost $5.2 million. Clover got almost $2.9 million and Fort Mill got almost $2.3 million. That money has to be spent by Sept. 30, 2023.
The American Rescue Plan signed into law in March 2021 brought almost $122 billion for ESSER III. South Carolina received more than $2.1 billion. Rock Hill got $34.8 million and York almost $11.6 million. Clover received $6.4 million and Fort Mill $5.1 million. Districts have until Sept. 30, 2024 to spend that money.
Combined, across all three rounds, the four York County districts account for more than $90 million.
Spending money
Even with millions of dollars local districts wouldn’t have expected before the COVID pandemic, they can’t spend ESSER money any way they want. Lordo said funding applications for her district were sent in expectation her district and others will be audited.
“These funds are very restrictive,” she said.
All York County districts used ESSER money on teaching and support positions to help with learning loss, virtual education, cleaning, mental health services or similar needs. Districts will have to figure out which of those positions to absorb into their general fund budgets once ESSER money stops.
In York, superintendent Kelly Coxe said her district had limited technology before COVID abruptly sent students and teachers into virtual learning in spring 2020. York’s two top spending items in ESSER I were virtual or alternative programming and education technology and support. In ESSER II, York spent about as much each on learning loss and facility maintenance as it did for all of ESSER I combined. Education technology and maintenance again top ESSER III, with almost $1.9 million also going to mental health services.
Clover spent 82% of its first round funding on educational technology and learning loss. Learning loss measure and summer learning took up 84% of second round funding, followed by money for COVID response nurses, contact tracers and mental health services. Third round funding in Clover, about twice the amount of the first two rounds combined, goes to two areas. Air quality and ventilation measures are almost $4.5 million, with almost $2 million for learning loss.
Rock Hill spent about a quarter of its first round funding on its virtual academy. The district spent only a little less each on education technology and learning loss. A little less than half of second round funding is the almost $7.4 million spent on education technology. Another $4.7 million went to learning loss and almost $1.2 million to the virtual academy. Almost $18 million of the nearly $35 million in third round funding goes to learning loss. There’s more than $7 million for facility maintenance, $4 million for summer learning and $3 million for mental health services.
Fort Mill spent almost $500,000 of its $633,000 first round budget on education technology. Another $86,000 went to cleaning supplies. Support personnel and COVID response support was highest in the second round at almost $915,000 followed by learning loss at $833,000. Indoor air purification systems at $2.5 million make up half of ESSER III funds. The district also has almost $1.4 million for its virtual academy and $508,000 for mental health services on that list.
Ongoing COVID needs
This year the Rock Hill district started a new COVID call center to take and provide information. Terri Smith, chief of business services for the district, said in the first week it took more than 300 calls each day. As of Tuesday morning, the Rock Hill district has had more than 1,700 student or staff positive COVID cases since the start of this school year.
Fort Mill has 294 current student or staff positives, as of Tuesday morning. York has more than 850 student or staff positives this school year, more than 70 of them current cases. Clover has more than 1,200 positive cases this school year, 180 of them active cases.
From learning loss for students out of the classroom to mental health, teaching positions and technology, area district officials say COVID-related needs won’t soon disappear. Nor will a need for their response.
This story was originally published January 11, 2022 at 11:48 AM.
