Update on Pandemic Funding & Information About Spending Plans

Dear Berkley Schools Community,

Since the 2020-21 school year, the Berkley School District has received significant funds through state categorical funding and Federal grants to help support our students and staff during the height of the pandemic through pandemic recovery. Since the early dollars arrived to help us mitigate the COVID-19 virus in our schools, we have also received funding for technology, student learning, addressing learning recovery, mental health, safety and security, and more. We are grateful for the Federal, State and local funding that has allowed us to expand our programming and support students in ways that weren’t possible prior to these extra dollars. This message will share details of the funding, so our school community can have a better understanding of how the dollars were or are planned on being spent.

Since 2020, the District has received just over $19.3 million in Federal and State dollars related to the COVID-19 pandemic. While that is a significant amount of money, each funding source (20 in total) came with spending requirements, meaning we could not simply add the money to our annual budget and spend it as we wished. In addition, most grants also have deadlines for when the funds must be spent. Early on, the funding was directed at online learning tools, technology and COVID-19 mitigation. Since then, while we continue to have a need for disinfecting supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE), the funding has shifted to support what is called post-pandemic “learning loss,” mental health support, and technology. 

With these dollars, we were able to fund many supplies, programs and positions to keep our students safe and enrich our programming. Here is a top-level summary of what has been funded thus far:

• Schoology, an online learning management system used since 2020
• Subscriptions for many online learning programs, including: Dreambox, Lexia, Zoom, WebEx, Raz Kids, VLAC, Accelerate Ed, Nearpod, Clear to Go
• Personal Protective Equipment, including: Face masks for adults and children, face shields, desk shields, gloves, hand sanitizer
• Cleaning equipment, including: Sanitizing wipes, sanitizing spray and the equipment for the spray, additional hours for custodial staff
• Additional science kits for elementary students, to reduce the amount of shared supplies among students
• Chromebooks, iPads and extra chargers to become a 1:1 District (one device for each student District-wide)
• Hotspot internet devices for families during virtual learning, to ensure every family had the ability to connect with school
• All-staff one-time ‘Thank You’ pay ($1.8 million total)
• Second Step, a social-emotional learning and wellness program to empower students
• Literacy materials
• Summer school staff stipends and programming
• Professional learning to address learning recovery
• School nurses
• Elementary counselors and social workers
• Behavior experts to support students and staff
• Mental health supports for staff
• Safety and security items, including: Vape sensors in secondary buildings, Nightlock devices in all buildings, reunification plans and supplies in case of an emergency, Go Buckets, first aid kits 
• Berkley Building Blocks early childhood equipment and upgrades, including: staff bonuses and salary grid increases, new classroom furniture, new playground equipment, no increase to tuition, family credits to offset existing tuition fees
• Increased meal distribution for all families and provided free meals March 2020-July 2022

The funds we have not allocated yet, do have a budget. The upcoming spending plans include:

• Enrichment programs for during and after school, such as Playworks
• Therapy dogs
• Curriculum/instructional materials, including early literacy initiatives such as decodable books and a new phonics program
• Berkley Summer Difference (summer school) programs
• Tutoring for students
• Additional security cameras
• Visitor and emergency management system
• Berkley Building Blocks playground upgrades

It’s also important to note the categories and types of projects we could not use the pandemic funding on. Those restrictions included construction, furniture, maintenance (with the exception of upgrading air quality systems, which we did in 2015) and upgrading curriculum and classroom materials for all students (the requirements were specific to targeted groups who were most affected by the pandemic and learning loss).

In the Berkley School District we believe in fiscal responsibility. We work diligently every year to balance our budget, stay conservative with our spending and estimations, and add to our fund balance (savings account for emergencies) while keeping students at the center of all decisions. The budget plans for the pandemic funding are no different. All of the funds must be spent by September 2024, at the latest. We will spend the pandemic funding with fidelity, while being cautious of adding long-term costs to a budget that will have to carry those extra costs once the pandemic funding has ended. Our goal is to make the biggest impact we can on student outcomes, safety and belonging while this funding is available to us.

Finally, I would like to thank those in elected positions who recognized a need and made this funding available to public schools. We are grateful for the improvements and systems this funding has been able to provide.

As always, I am grateful for our school community and to be a part of the community. 

Sincerely,

Scott Francis
Superintendent
Berkley Schools