More than $220 million in CARES Act funding will be allocated to all 132 school districts in the state for COVID-19 preparedness and response.
Gov. Ralph Northam made the announcement Thursday. He said the funding will support COVID-19 preparedness and response measures for the 2020–2021 school year, including testing supplies, personal protective equipment, sanitization, and technology for distance learning.
Funding will be distributed to all 132 public school districts using an allocation formula of $175 per pupil based on fall enrollment, with a minimum of $100,000 for each school division, according to the governor’s office.
Combined, Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools will get $1,999,270.
The York County School Division is expected to get $2,295,440.
Here’s the full list from the governor’s office.
“Students, teachers, principals, and parents are going to great lengths to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic amid a new school year, and we must do everything we can to support them,” Northam said. “This additional $220 million in federal funding will give our schools the resources they need to continue operating and provide Virginians with a world-class education, whether safely in person or remotely from home.”
This funding will supplement $66.8 million provided to Virginia through the federal Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund and an additional $587.5 million allocated to the state in May under the CARES Act. This included $238.6 million from the Elementary and Secondary School Education Relief Fund for K-12 activities. Additionally, the CARES Act provided $343.9 million for higher education through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund.
“This funding is critical as we continue to provide safe, high-quality education for Virginia students,” Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction James Lane said in a prepared statement. “I am grateful to Governor Northam for his ongoing support of public education—and I can assure you that his funding will immediately be put to good use.”
Northam was one of the first governors in the country to close schools for in-person instruction when COVID-19 began to spread quickly during the 2020 spring semester.
In June, the state provided guidance for the phased reopening of PreK-12 schools, including guidelines for safely resuming in-person instruction and school activities.
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