PRESS
RELEASE
The Niles City School
District is preparing for the start of the 2020-2021 school year with the safety
of our students and staff at the forefront. The district has been awarded more
than $900,000 in federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES)
Act funding, which is intended to help school districts with many types of
expenditures such as COVID/PPE supplies, technology equipment/supplies and
maintaining current staff. The Cares Act provided the district with adequate
funding to purchase Personal Protection Equipment in an effort to safely bring
our students and staff back into our school buildings.
To date, the district
has ordered $278,499 worth of COVID supplies and anticipates additional needs
throughout the school year. As of today the district has ordered handheld
thermometers, thousands of masks, gloves, sneeze guards, social distancing and
hand washing signage and hand sanitizer dispensers. The district has also
ordered thermographic cameras for building entrances, electro-static sprayers
to disinfect entire buildings and classrooms and ten water fountain adapters.
While safety is top priority, the district also purchased an online instruction
program, laptops and WiFi hotspots to ensure that our students have the
necessary resources to continue their education at a high level while remote
learning.
In May, Governor Mike DeWine announced more than $300 million in cuts to K-12 education which cost the district, already in Fiscal Emergency, over $300,000 in funding for the remainder of the 2019-2020 fiscal year. A Fiscal Recovery Plan was approved in June which outlines the details to set aside a portion of the CARES Act funds to replace what Governor DeWine cut from the districts’ funding in May, including maintaining current staff. No CARES Act funds will be spent on employee salaries until the 2021-2022 school year.
Recently, Governor Mike
DeWine also announced the Niles City School District will receive an additional
$120,000 to be used solely on COVID supplies. The district is working hard to
make certain there is a safe and successful return to school.