Between March 2020 and March 2021, the federal government distributed an unprecedented amount of money to American public schools to address the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic. About $6 billion was distributed in three waves to the state of Michigan alone. These funds came with great discretion on how they could be spent, and schools had wide latitude in how to document their spending.[1]
The financial support started when Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act in March 2020. The aim was to provide schools “with emergency relief funds to address the impact that COVID-19 has had, and continues to have,” according to the U.S. Department of Education.[2] Michigan schools received more than $700 million through this funding. In December 2020, Congress passed a second wave of relief, called the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act. Public schools received nearly $1.5 billion more. The third and final financial support package, called the American Rescue Plan Act, passed in March 2021. It topped them all, handing Michigan schools $3.7 billion in extra funding.[3]
The U.S. Department of Education said this funding was aimed at helping districts “reopen schools safely, maximize in-person instructional time, and address the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on students, educators, and families.”[4] Allowable uses range from addressing students’ social, emotional and academic needs to dealing with health and safety concerns. More specific examples include “improving ventilation and implementing illness prevention strategies” and ”preventing teacher layoffs; providing accelerated learning opportunities; implementing rigorous curricula; funding additional counselors, school nurses, and school psychologists; increasing the number of full-service community schools.”[5] For the third and largest installment of ESSER, school districts were directed to allocate at least 20% of funds to address learning loss through evidence-based interventions such as summer programs, extended school days, or after-school programs. The remaining 80% was to be allocated at the district’s discretion subject to the allowable uses established by previous relief grants.[6]
This report uses data provided by districts to the state government to analyze how public schools in Michigan have reported spending their Covid relief funds. This financial information covers the three school years that ended in 2020, 2021 and 2022. The analysis finds that school districts reported spending about $2.5 billion of their $6 billion in Covid aid through the 2021-22 school year. The data generally show that districts allocated this extra revenue similarly to the way they typically spend resources — with about half devoted to employee compensation, a third for purchased services and supplies and the rest on capital costs and a variety of relatively minor expenses.