Pearland City Council voted to allocate more of its federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, Economic Security Act spending toward Pearland and Alvin ISDs at the Dec. 7 meeting. These allocations helped the city meet the state requirement that 75% of CARES Act funding go toward medical, public health or personnel costs for employees dedicated to COIVD-19 response.
The city of Pearland received $6.7 million in CARES Act funding from Brazoria, Harris and Fort Bend counties. The city has allocated the money toward business relief, household relief, city reimbursements related to COVID-19, facility improvements and hazard pay for first responders.
The city originally presented potential allocations for CARES Act funding in June and in August, according to Grants-Special Project Administrator Joel Hardy. The plan presented Dec. 7 modifies some of the spending plans, which the city must have finalized by Dec. 30. In the plan presented Dec. 7, the city allocated a total of $1.47 million to AISD and PISD, compared to the original allocation of $260,000. The city will allocate $1.17 million to Pearland ISD and $300,000 to AISD. The state will match the funds for the districts, going toward Operation Connectivity, which is a state plan to connect students with a device and internet connection.
Council Member Luke Orlando and Adrian Hernandez both asked if it was possible for the city to allocate more money towards personnel reimbursements, rather than all $1.47 million going toward the ISDs. However, council ultimately approved the motion as staff presented it. One reason mentioned by Grants-Special Project Administrator Joel Hardy is that the allocating the money differently might risk the state choosing not to reimburse the city.
