It may come as a shock to our school superintendent, but we don’t need an extra $2.3 billion of Covid relief funds for schools. At least that’s what Governor DeSantis thinks. According to the Governor, “Florida has passed on $2.3 billion since no district has articulated a need for funding that cannot be met with currently available resources.” According to The Tallahassee Democrat, the feds are still holding on to $2.3 billion, and no money has been directed to local school districts. The reason: Florida has not submitted a plan detailing how the funds would be spent.
I guess the Governor is too busy banning masks and vaccines in schools or suing the federal government over Haitian refugees to apply for federal money for our schools.
I know we have a great school district, but can’t we use the funds to cover such things as COVID leave to pay employees to stay home or install air purifiers and upgrade HVAC systems to improve air quality because of COVID? We all know we have massive challenges with bus driver shortages, school teacher and staff shortages, and bringing students up to adequate grade levels after a year of remote learning. It is evident to a blind man that the Governor’s decision not to apply for funds is political. We are the only state in America that has not submitted a plan for these funds.
-Janet B