Introduction

During the pandemic, the federal government has passed several laws to help address the economic and health consequences from COVID-19.  Two of the main laws that will be the highlight in this ‘Federal Funding Plan’ include the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act, which was signed into law on December 27^th, 2020, and the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act, which was signed into law on March 11^th, 2021.  Both of these laws provided funding to Local Education Agencies (LEA’s) to address various issues related to the continuing pandemic-related crises. 
The 2021-22 enacted state budget includes language requiring local education agencies, such as school districts, that receive funding from the Federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund allocated by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) to post on its website a plan by school year of how these funds will be spent.  According to the law, this requirement only relates to the ARP Act funds but we have included additional information in this plan that address the potential use of the CRRSA Act funds. 
New York State has been allocated nearly $4 billion under the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund, with a minimum of 90% of these must be allocated to local educational agencies (LEAs), including charter schools that are LEAs. The CRRSA Act does not require that a portion of these funds be made available for providing equitable services to students and teachers in non-public schools.  Skaneateles Central School District has been allocated $348,179.  The spending timeline for the CRRSA Act funds dates back to when the pandemic began on March 13^th, 2020 and extends until September 30^th, 2023.
New York State has been allocated nearly $9 billion in ARP-ESSER funds, with a minimum of $8.09 billion (90 percent) going to Local Education Agencies, including public schools. Skaneateles Central School District has been allocated $781,961.  Of this total, 20% (or $156,392) of this allocation is required to be funneled directly to address learning loss through the implementation of evidence-based interventions, such as summer learning or summer enrichment, extended day, comprehensive afterschool programs, or extended school year programs, and ensure that such interventions respond to students’ academic, social, and emotional needs and address the needs for all students.  The spending timeline for the ARP Act funds dates back to when the pandemic began on March 13^th, 2020 and extends until September 30^th, 2024.
Districts are also required to prioritize spending on non-recurring expenses in the following areas: 

• Safely returning students to in-person instruction; 
• Maximizing in-person instruction time;
• Operating schools and meeting the needs of students; 
• Purchasing educational  technology;
• Addressing the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on students, including the impacts of interrupted instruction and learning loss and the impacts on low-income students, children with disabilities, English language learners, and students experiencing homelessness;
• Implementing evidence-based strategies to meet students' social, emotional, mental health, and academic needs;
• Offering evidence-based summer, afterschool, and other extended learning and enrichment programs; and
• Supporting early childhood education.

 
In addition, districts must identify programs and services that will continue beyond the availability of these federal funds and how local funds will be used moving forward in order to minimize disruption to core academic and other school programs.
Before posting this plan, districts are required to seek public comment from parents, teachers and other stakeholders and take such comments into account in the development of the plan.  The district held two community meetings in an effort to receive community feedback on where these funds should be directed and how to use them in the best way possible.  The first meeting was held in the High School cafeteria on June 1^st, 2021 from 4:00-5:00 PM and the second meeting was on June 8^th, 2021 from 8:00-9:00 AM.  During these meetings the district received a lot of feedback and intuitive ideas on how the community and staff member on how the district should utilize these funds.  After both meetings a combined list from both meetings was compiled to capture all of the input.  The following topics were discussed included;

• K-12 literacy professional development
• More opportunities on campus for all stakeholders
• Explore community outreach? opportunities
• Summer support services for all students
• Continued extended day/credit recovery opportunities
• Prioritize student wants vs. needs – creative and engaging activities
• Continuous in-year catch up and recovery for middle of the road students
• Improved communication from all stakeholder groups
• Continued community building activities throughout the year
• Addressing kids with anxiety in an effort to get students back to in-person instruction
• Continuous professional development for remote instruction – course production and implementation
• Current and future technology needs
• Mental/social/emotional well-being for all students and staff
• Maintaining staffing and increasing our ability to serve students, staff, and the community

The district will continue to update this list and evaluate priorities as specific needs become apparent.  As stated previously, there is a specific window that these funds can be spent in and there is no current knowledge of more funding becoming available to support these areas of need once all funds have been exhausted.  The district will uphold their fiduciary duty to spend these funds in the best way for our students, staff and community as a whole.  The District continues to encourage feedback throughout the duration of this timeline and possess the capabilities the shift our thinking and spending when necessary.  Since these initiatives will be spent using federal funding, the general fund budget, that is voted on by the community, will not see and initial impact or increase.  As we evaluate this process to determine what is working best for the district as a whole, these expenses will be built into the budget over time to support our needs.