An overview of how the latest round of ESSER funds has been budgeted.
New Haven’s school system has spent over $37 million of the last batch of federal ESSER pandemic-relief funds — on everything from salaries to school supplies to HVAC upgrades — leaving $42.9 million still to spend by October of next year.
The Board of Alders Education Committee heard that update from New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) leaders on Wednesday evening during a meeting held in the Aldermanic Chamber on the second floor of City Hall.
In a presentation to alders, NHPS Supt. Madeline Negrón, Assistant Supt. Keisha Redd-Hannans, Chief Operating Officer Thomas Lamb, and Chief Financial Officer Linda Hannans summarized how the district has spent, or plans to spend, the three rounds of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) funding it received from the federal government.
Their report revealed how NHPS has allocated a rare influx of resources to address both the unique challenges of the pandemic and long-simmering problems that have affected the school district.
In August 2020, the district received $8.506,997 to spend by the end of September 2022. The administrators revealed that 50 percent of that funding was spent on technology as the school district scrambled to build infrastructure for online learning during the pandemic.
That first round of funding, dispersed at the beginning of a school year fundamentally altered by the public health crisis, also funded nurses (3 percent of the first ESSER budget) and substitutes (10 percent).
NHPS received the next round of ESSER funding on Jan. 5, 2021. Those funds — which totaled $37.7 million — must be spent by Sept. 30 of this year.
For this round of funding, Redd-Hannans said, “our focus was reducing class size” — particularly in grades one through three.
As a result, 39 percent of that funding went toward full-time employees and benefits.
The third and latest ESSER grant awarded to NHPS was its largest — totaling $80,017,233.
Awarded in Janunary 2022, this batch of funding expires on Sept. 30, 2024.
Laura Glesby Photo
NHPS administrators Hannans, Redd-Hannans, Negrón, and Lamb.
Much of this $80 million — an amount of about $31 million — has been allocated toward salaries and benefits for employees. So far, about $16.6 million of that funding has been spent, with more than $14 million left in the balance for salaries and benefits.
In addition, the district has allocated almost $13 million toward improving building infrastructure — with about half of those funds specifically designated for updating school HVAC systems.
In total, the system has spent $37,082,650 of this latest batch of funding and has $42,934,583 left to spend.
Administrators provided alders with line-item examples for how they plan to spend the remaining ESSER funds in the next year, including:
• $4,761,707.03 on substitutes, custodial services, and overtime.
• $8,812,084.60 on facilities
• $5,550,859.90 on computers
• $3,906,563 on professional development
• $150,000 on student activities
• $91,000 on “recruitment and retention strategies,” among other items.
Alders on the Education Committee.
Fair Haven Alder Sarah Miller asked about the impact of these funds so far. “In terms of outcomes, how are we better?”
Redd-Hannans zeroed in on the new curricula implemented by the school district, pointing to success among the school system’s youngest students in improving reading skills last year as well as rising test scores after the implementation of new math and science curricula.
From her own walkthroughs in classrooms, she added, “We’re seeing the level of rigor in the classroom rise… Our teachers are on board.”
Downtown/East Rock Alder Eli Sabin noted that some of the ESSER expenses, like security and substitute teachers, will need funding past the 2024 expiration date. He asked how the district plans to continue funding those jobs.
Negrón agreed and said she is planning to conduct “a full assessment” of the district’s needs going forward and of the available funding sources. “I don’t have an answer for you yet,” she said.
Then why did they have to close schools early when it was hot because so many schools had malfunctioning HVAC systems?