Ciresi spotlights $20M in federal funding to help local schools reopen

Rep. Joseph Ciresi    April 9, 2021 | 10:10 AM

HARRISBURG, April 9 – Nearly $20 million in federal relief funds has been allocated for local Pre-K to 12 schools to help students return to classroom learning while also equitably expanding opportunity for students who need it most, announced state Rep. Joe Ciresi.

The four local school districts receiving $19.6 million in funding are:

  • Pottstown School District: $9,741,181.
  • Spring-Ford School District: $4,355,676.
  • Pottsgrove School District: $3,670,939.
  • Perkiomen Valley School District: $1,790,312.

“This is great news not just for students and teachers, but for the entire community,” said Ciresi, D-Montgomery. “To say life during the COVID-19 pandemic has been difficult – especially for parents and guardians of school-aged children whose routines were thrown into chaos – is the ultimate understatement. But this funding provides a significant boost to getting students and school faculty safely back on a familiar path, and addresses student learning loss and other educational needs that may have come up over the past year.” 

Combined with the commonwealth’s initiative to provide teachers, school staff and contractors the chance to get the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, this funding aims to help schools reopen and safely return students and teachers to classroom settings. The funding derives from the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund passed last month by Congress and signed by President Biden.

"Our school communities need these additional resources to invest in instructional materials, equipment, facilities, transportation and more, and we are pleased to make these funds available to them,” said Department of Education Acting Secretary Noe Ortega. “These funds will provide more assistance to school communities as we continue to navigate the pandemic.”

More information is available by contacting Ciresi’s office at 484-200-8265.  

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