MISD outlines spending plan for fed funds

By Phil Major
publisher@wood.cm
Posted 7/22/21

Federal COVID-19 relief funds are pouring unprecedented amounts of money into some school districts.

Mineola ISD trustees got a detailed look at ways the district plans to spend the latest round …

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MISD outlines spending plan for fed funds

Posted

Federal COVID-19 relief funds are pouring unprecedented amounts of money into some school districts.

Mineola ISD trustees got a detailed look at ways the district plans to spend the latest round of about $2.42 million.

Assistant Superintendent David Sauer said the application was recently completed.

Business manager William Bjork said by classifying certain expenses as eligible for reimbursement from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds, the district will save more than $1 million in its proposed budget for 2021-22.

That will basically pay for the district’s recent fine arts facility expansion project, he noted.

Sauer explained that at least 20% of the money must be spent directly to address student learning loss due to COVID-19.

Mineola spending plans are well above that mark, he said.

He said MISD will be able to spend $349,000 to replace 26 of the oldest heating and air units throughout the district and replace carpeting on multiple campuses for $213,000. These are considered health and safety items.

The next round of funds for MISD will be $1.21 million.

Trustees approved the two documents required to be posted for the funding, which will appear on the district’s website.

The board also approved the required Safe Return to School Plan.

As Superintendent Cody Mize explained, MISD was already back to school last year.

Sauer noted the plan includes all the things MISD was doing, such as hand sanitizing stations, optional masks-wearing and disposable items in the cafeteria. That plan must be reviewed every six months.

Mize pointed out that ICUs in Tyler hospitals have been filling up with COVID-19 patients in recent days, most likely a result of the virus’s Delta variant.

Most of those patients were unvaccinated, he added.

The Northeast Texas Pubic Health District has reported a rise in COVID-19 patients in Wood County in the past two weeks.