ESSER Funds to Flow
Several states are pursuing litigation against the US Department of Education (USDE) after the publishing of an Interim Final Rule (IFR) meant to compel states to follow the federal interpretation of the proportional share calculation under the CARES Act.
While the lawsuit plays out on a national scale, the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) Superintendent Carolyn Stanford Taylor has agreed to a compromise approach on calculating the ESSER funds, in response to a WCRIS letter sent to her late last monthh.
The DPI said it will program its WISEgrants system so school districts must calculate ESSER funds based on both the Title I formula referenced in the CARES Act and according to the “total enrollment” formula outlined in the CARES Act guidance and the IFR from USDE.
This month the DPI will disburse the lower amount of the two formulas and reserve the difference. The difference will not be accessible to either public or private schools. When the courts rule on which formula is legal, the DPI will disburse the remaining reserve amounts accordingly. There is no timeline on how long the courts will take to resolve the dispute.
“This is an approach being taken in many states. It will allow the ESSER funds to start flowing while the lawsuit is ongoing,” said WCRIS Executive Director Sharon Schmeling.
However, Schmeling said, private schools still need to confirm they want to participate in ESSER funds and have to agree that they have been consulted in a timely and meaningful way.
“Public districts will not get any funds until ALL the private schools in their jurisdiction have signed off on timely and meaningful consultation,” Schmeling noted.
In announcing the decision last Thursday to WCRIS staff, the DPI stressed that Superintendent Stanford Taylor chose this balanced approach after reading the WCRIS letter outlining WCRIS’ concerns about using the Title I formula to calculate the ESSER funds for private schools.
While Stanford Taylor acknowledges she did not give WCRIS all it sought, she said she found the WCRIS arguments persuasive enough to pick the middle road so funds could flow while the courts resolve the funding formula dispute.
Despite how the courts finally rule, there will be “winners” and “losers” on both the public and private school sides when using either formula, Schmeling said.
“There is no perfect formula. There simply is not enough money under either scheme to provide all the funds schools need to respond to the extra expenses caused by COVID-19,” she said.
“But at least now, Wisconsin’s public and private school children can benefit from these important federal dollars as we plan for school reopenings this Fall.”
