New COVID relief funds are coming soon to NC charter schools. Last Thursday, the NC House passed S 172–Additional COVID-19 Response & Relief. The bill was ratified later that day. Yesterday, Governor Cooper signed the bill into law.
S 172 includes $3,224,272,535 in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding. The bill also includes $21.5 million for charter and residential schools. Read House Speaker Tim Moore’s press release about the legislation here.
A $400 per pupil funding floor for charter schools
S 172 sets a minimum funding floor for relief of $400 per ADM for charters. See Section 3.5 of the ratified bill — Minimum (floor) funding for public school units, with or without Title I eligibility. The legislation ensures that $2o million is placed in reserve for this purpose, and that non-Title I charter schools are not excluded from the funding allocation.
The Coalition was responsible for securing this funding for charter schools. Our Government Relations Team also worked hard to get funding relief to this level.
The first time the state distributed ESSER funds, we had to negotiate with the State Board of Education (SBE). This time with ESSER III funds, we took action on two important fronts:
- We kept SBE out of the decision-making process.
- We negotiated an amount with lawmakers of $400 per ADM for charters.
This is by far the largest pot of ESSER funds to date. Here’s a round-up of the ESSER fund distributions to charters:
- For ESSER I, the funding floor was $45 per ADM.
- For ESSER II, the funding floor was $180 per ADM.
- For ESSER III, the funding floor is $400 per ADM.
We are proud of the work the Coalition’s Government Relations Team has done to secure this funding, at this level, for our state’s charter schools!
