Shen. Valley super talks plans for ESSER grant funding, imbalances
SHENANDOAH – Shenandoah Valley Superintendent Brian Waite discussed the district’s plans for its $4,915,981 American Rescue Plan (ARP) Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund allocation, and the imbalance in funding between public schools and charter schools.
Waite spoke of both during his report at Wednesday’s school board meeting.
“First and foremost, we are extremely grateful for the funding, but we also need to be realistic about the impact,” Waite said. “Our district has long been underfunded, and as a result, our children often don’t get the resources they deserve to fulfill their potential. Underfunding is a long-term problem, and it needs a long-term solution, giving students those resources each and every year they are with us.”
“All of which is to say that we will work to put the ESSR money to good use, but we need to be realistic that this is one time funding that will soon disappear,” Waite added.
Waite said the district plans to use the funding for four purposes: purchasing educational technology, planning and implementing activities related to summer learning, repairing and improving school facilities to reduce the risk of virus transmission and exposure to health hazards, and for inspection, testing, maintenance, repair, replacement, and upgrade projects to improve indoor air quality in school facilities.
The district plans to offer summer school this year to “help close achievement gaps caused by the pandemic,” Waite said. The courses will be offered in math and English Language Arts from June 7 to June 25 for students on the high school side and June 14 through July 2 for elementary students.
The courses will be in-person Monday through Friday, and a $25 fee will be charged to families in 7-12 grade, which will be returned upon successful completion of the course.
Waite, whose district is one of six district plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the Commonwealth for funding discrepancies, took the time to call out such a gap in ESSER funding.
“As a public school that is underfunded, I am frustrated by the fact that cyber charter schools receive ESSER funds even though they already have technology infrastructure and don’t have traditional buildings for students to attend,” Waite said. “They do not have facilities to repair, ventilation and air conditioning systems to replace, need for filtering, purification and other air cleaning necessary to reduce the risk of virus transmission and environmental health hazards to students like traditional public schools.”
Waite called out one charter school in particular, Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School, which he says has a fund balance of over 62% of its $90 Million in operating expenses, $7 Million of which is for advertising and promotion, which Waite says is covered by taxpayer dollars.
Charter schools in Pennsylvania receive tuition funds from the school districts its students reside in.
Pennsylvania Cyber Charter is receiving $23 Million in ARP-ESSER funds, Waite said.
“Cyber Schools are considered a public school but do not have the day to day maintenance of schools compared to their traditional counterparts,” Waite said. “The inequities of the funding formula between cyber charter schools and traditional public schools have been heightened by the pandemic.”
“The funding formula for cyber schools has to be addressed or Shenandoah taxpayers will continue to pay for disproportionate services such as advertising as compared to the funds used to provide education to the students attending the Shenandoah Valley School District brick and mortar school,” Waite added.
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