The district has been allocated over $1 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan's Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief III grant—or ESSER III. The funds are to be used over three years. Twenty percent of the grant money must be used on addressing learning loss related to the pandemic, per guidelines.
School districts such as CISD can apply for the grant from the Texas Education Agency as of April 29. As part of the process, they must engage stakeholders and allow the public a chance to provide input on the plans for the funds and how they are used, per district documents.
According to the policy, the district will have to provide notice of the grant application through an information item at a board meeting. It will also have to publish information on its website.
CISD Deputy Superintendent Courtney Carpenter told the board that a survey will be conducted from June 8-22 to gather community input. She said the survey will be shared with the community on the district's website and the Dragon eBlast.
On April 28, $11.2 billion of federal funding was released by the state Legislature to respond to the pandemic and address student learning loss due to COVID-19.
