By Jeniffer Solis
This story was originally published by Nevada Current.
The Nevada Department of Education is calling for feedback on how to spend more than $107 million in stimulus money.
These funds will go directly to school districts in Nevada, and the Education Department has required administrators to ask students, educators, parents, organizations and community members for input before submitting spending plans in August.
School officials are now asking the general public for feedback no later than 5:00 p.m. on Aug. 9, 2021. The public can submit an online comment here.
Last week the Nevada Department of Education published its state plan outlining how the state plans to use $1.07 billion – Nevada’s share of the American Rescue Plan Act’s Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ARP ESSER).
In addition to the $107 million in funding available to the Nevada Department of Education, the 17 county school districts and the State Public Charter School Authority already received a total of $966 million through the American Rescue Plan.
Nevada’s spending plan includes $32.5 million to close opportunity gaps for students who have been traditionally underserved, including a program to help “fifth-year seniors,” left behind due to the pandemic, graduate. The funding plan calls for an investment of $5 million in pre-kindergarten education to maintain and expand Nevada Ready! State Pre-K. Another $20.7 million would be used to fund stipends for student teachers to help them graduate on time and expand Nevada’s teacher workforce.
Another $10 million would be allocated for social and emotional support of students in response to COVID-19, including $7.5 million to hire 100 school-based mental health professionals to help students cope with the impact of the pandemic.
The plan also calls for funding to help educators access high-quality professional development and instructional materials. Support for parents, families and communities is included in the plan as well, including $2 million for translation services in Spanish, Tagalog and others.
Funds are filtered through the federal Title I formula, meaning districts with more low-income students are receiving a substantial portion of funds.
More than 30 meetings with families, educators, Tribal Nations, school administrators and community groups were hosted to develop the spending plan published by the state.
A breakdown of money allocation by school districts:Local Education Agency ESSER I Allocation ESSER II Allocation ARP ESSER Allocation Total ESSER Allocationns Carson City SD $1,115,689.00 $4,420,111.74 $9,916,387.00 $15,452,187.74 Churchill County SD $508,595.00 $2,014,960.57 $4,686,902.00 $7,210,457.57 Clark County SD $83,968,770.00 $347,509,248.51 $777,849,496.00 $1,209,327,514.51 Douglas County SD $530,266.00 $1,842,230.09 $4,133,902.00 $6,506,398.09 Elko County SD $730,454.00 $2,893,885.54 $6,492,354.00 $10,116,693.54 Esmeralda County SD $17,621.00 $68,888.01 $154,801.00 $241,310.01 Eureka County SD $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 Humboldt County SD $347,289.00 $1,740,357.80 $3,931,812.00 $6,019,458.80 Lander County SD $99,596.00 $394,579.93 $885,226.00 $1,379,401.93 Lincoln County SD $103,332.00 $386,704.22 $865,416.00 $1,355,452.22 Lyon County SD $1,237,916.00 $5,111,129.24 $11,463,136.00 $17,812,181.24 Mineral County SD $144,027.00 $569,233.53 $1,273,267.00 $1,986,527.53 Nye County SD $1,147,514.00 $4,546,220.90 $10,199,345.00 $15,893,079.90 Pershing County SD $121,865.00 $471,086.88 $1,083,153.00 $1,676,104.88 State Public Charter School Authority $4,630,216.00 $21,998,843.50 $53,522,439.00 $80,151,498.50 Storey County SD $27,236.00 $107,904.43 $242,081.00 $377,221.43 Washoe County SD $9,908,499.00 $34,836,233.06 $77,282,787.00 $122,027,519.06 White Pine County SD $180,964.00 $678,576.04 $1,522,366.00 $2,381,906.04 LEA Total $104,819,849.00 $429,590,193.99 $965,504,870.00 $1,499,914,912.99
