Poudre School District is seeking community input on how to spend federal pandemic response funds to continue supporting students and staff. The district will use community feedback to help develop a budget for using American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) fund dollars, under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
Once approved, PSD will receive about $15.5 million in ARP ESSER funds in the 2021-22 school year for the safe operation of schools and to address the impact of the pandemic on students.
Share your thoughts in a survey, email or forum
- Survey (available through July 20): Complete a short survey, available in English and Spanish.
- Email (deadline is July 20): Send your ideas to covidfunds@psdschools.org
- Virtual forums:
- 8 to 9 a.m., July 14 via Zoom
- 7 to 8 p.m., July 20 via Zoom
Your feedback will help PSD develop a funding plan
- All input will be evaluated through the lens of allowable costs, as determined by the federal government and Colorado Department of Education. Because the funds are one-time, salary increases or other similar, ongoing costs will not be considered.
- Input will be used to develop a funding plan that PSD will submit for review in August. If the plan is approved, PSD will receive the funding.
Past spending of COVID money
Throughout the pandemic, PSD has prioritized its use of federal dollars for health and safety, continuation of operations, learning loss, and social and emotional/mental health supports.
Some examples include:
- COVID supplies: Personal protective equipment, such as masks, shields, gowns, and gloves; sprayers and cleaning supplies; water bottle-filling stations; hand sanitizer; and equipment to facilitate social distancing (6-foot floor markers, plexiglass dividers, etc.)
- Remote learning technology: Laptops, iPads, internet hotspots and services, headsets, webcams, keyboards, mics
- Summer learning-loss interventions: Free high school summer school courses for all students; one-on-one tutoring and summer camps for students; expansion of Camp SOL summer programming; and transportation salaries for busing staff who helped IT, Custodial and other departments with remote learning and COVID sanitation during school closures.
- Salaries: PSD Virtual, the district’s 100% online option in 2020-21; Child Nutrition staff who operated emergency feeding sites; dedicated in-building substitute teachers
- Other: Operations of Remote Learning Support Centers to provide a safe space for students to learn while PSD was in remote learning; staff COVID-19 training; contact tracing services; traffic control during drop-off/pick-up; increased graduation costs; online curriculum and learning services; increased unemployment costs
- Charter Schools: A portion of funding was allocated to PSD-authorized charter schools based on funded pupil count. Charter schools determined and addressed their own COVID- and learning loss-related needs.