SAISD to Receive Over $2 Million in CARES Act Grants

SAN ANGELO, TX — The San Angelo Independent School District will receive $2,848,284 in grants under the CARES Act passed by Congress and administered by the Texas Education Agency. The intent and purpose of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act education funding is to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus.

According to the TEA, the grants will be allowed to be distributed in the following ways:

• Provide principals and school leaders with the resources necessary to address the needs of their schools

• Address the unique needs of low-income children or students, children with disabilities, English learners, racial and ethnic minorities, students experiencing homelessness, and foster students 

• Training and professional development of LEA staff on sanitation and minimizing the spread of infectious diseases.

• Training and professional development of LEA staff on sanitation and minimizing the spread of infectious diseases.

• Purchasing supplies to sanitize and clean facilities

• Planning for and coordinating during long term closures including: providing meals to eligible students and providing technology for online learning to all students

• Purchasing educational technology

• Providing mental health services and supports

• Planning and implementing activities related to summer learning and supplemental afterschool programs and providing classroom instruction or online learning during the summer months

Local education agencies or LEAs will be required to report quarterly reports to the agency that detail the methodology used to provide services to schools and use of funds and amounts expended. In addition, they will need to detail how the district prioritized needs to determine the uses of funds and a timeline for providing services

According to the TEA, there are four separate ways that the funding will be distributed per the following guidelines:

Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER)

A minimum of 90% of the ESSER grant to TEA will be allocated to LEAs that received Title I, Part A funding in the school year 2019-2020.

Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG)

This funding will provide reimbursement to the small number of LEAs that provided childcare to the children of essential workers as defined in the statute.

Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF)

Funding is administered by the Governor’s Office and is designated for the state, high population county and city uses. The Governor and legislative leadership have approved an amount of the state’s portion of the CRF for use in reimbursing school systems for COVID-19 expenses.

School Emergency Response to Violence (SERV)

Funding is expected to be released by USDE in the fall and is expected to be a formula grant program that could fund some additional COVID-9 related expenditures.

Region 15, which is comprised of 43 school districts will be receiving over $10 million in grants. San Angelo ISD and the San Felipe-Del Rio ISD were the only districts to recieve more than $2 million under the CARES Act. The following neighboring districts that also form part of Region 15 will be receiving funds: