Public schools in Jackson County are set to receive a third round of federal stimulus money totaling $8.67 million to fund ongoing expenses related to COVID-19.

The Indiana Department of Education recently announced nearly $1.8 billion in planning allocations for public school districts across the state from the 2021 American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act.

The breakdown of funding is as follows:

Seymour Community School Corp. — $5,676,832.84

Brownstown Central Community School Corp. — $1,668,696.35

Crothersville Community School Corp. — $632,988.32

Medora Community School Corp. — $692,916.38

Allocations for non-public schools will be announced later this spring, according to a news release from the IDOE.

SCSC Superintendent Brandon Harpe said he and other school officials are still working on a proposal of how to spend the funds which will be presented to the school board at the May 11 meeting.

“We do believe this is going to be an excellent revenue source to help us fight learning loss resulting from the pandemic,” he said.

Schools must use at least 20% of the funding to support accelerated learning opportunities for students to make up for lost instructional time due to the pandemic. These interventions may include summer learning or enrichment and comprehensive after-school programs.

Roger Bane, superintendent of Medora Community Schools, said he just recently submitted funding requests for the second allocation of money from the 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which totaled $308,531 for Medora.

“If it is approved, we will be adding some additional staff at the elementary level to address learning loss,” he said.

There is also money for technology equipment and services and some for improvements to infrastructure, HVAC maintenance and repairs and cleaning supplies, he added.

Medora used its first round of CARES Act funding, which totaled $77,335, for cleaning supplies, personal protective equipment, technology, mental health services and some equipment to help with social distancing.

“Most of our Round 1 monies have been spent,” he said.

The second round of funding will be spent over the next two school years, he added.

He has not started planning what to do with the most recent allocation, which can be used to reimburse approved expenses incurred through September 2024 that address some of the greatest challenges schools continue to face as a result of the pandemic.

“I plan on meeting with the school board, administrators, teachers and staff to determine the best use of the (money),” he said.

Jade Peters, assistant superintendent at Brownstown, said he and other school administrators currently are working on a plan of how to spend the second round of money, which totaled $743,010.64.

“We have a committee formed that is working on what we feel is the best way to utilize these funds,” Peters said.

Brownstown received $188,869.36 in the first round of funding which was spent on cleaning supplies, additional Chromebooks, part-time nursing staff and virtual teaching needs, Peters said.

Like Medora, Brownstown officials have not yet begun to discuss the third round of funding.

Peters and Bane believe all of the stimulus packages are more than sufficient to take care of the schools’ COVID-related expenses.

Bane credits school staff, students, families and the Medora community for doing whatever was asked to get students back into the classrooms.

“Our entire school community has come together and helped us through, what was hopefully the worst of the pandemic,” he said. “The support from parents, teachers and staff has been refreshing to see.”

Bane said Indiana’s struggles with the pandemic have been minor compared to what other states have gone through.

“Our state and local officials provided us with the support and resources we needed to get students back in school,” he said. “We have had students in our building since Day 1 of this school year.”

Peters said Brownstown is “blessed to have such a great staff that have truly handled COVID-19 with great resilience.”

“But we all are ready for a break from it,” he added. “Our staff has truly excelled through this and we are thankful for everything they are doing on a daily basis.”

Another concern Peters and other school officials are facing is how the pandemic is going to affect the district’s enrollment next school year.

“Are numbers going to increase or decrease? We don’t know,” he said. “Makes doing the budget even tougher with these unknowns, but we will keep plugging away and attacking each challenge day by day.”

Katie Jenner, Indiana Secretary of Education said the additional funding gives Indiana schools “access to unprecedented resources to sustainably invest in their future.”

“While the needs may vary from one school to the next, it’s critical that schools are strategically planning to maximize their return on investment, in turn achieving the greatest outcomes for students,” she said.