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Dear Editor;
I recently received a memo from the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) which lists the results of actions that the legislature took on the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) II funding. The legislature established in-person incentive funding to distribute some of the federal funds based on the number of in-person instructional hours during the 2020-21 school year. The Mineral Point and Highland School Districts were very positively impacted by this decision.
The amount of funding (in addition to the Title I based funds) that Mineral Point would have received was $42,825. After the Committee's actions, Mineral Point is now expected to receive $103,932; a difference of $61,107 in additional funds.
The amount of funding (in addition to the Title I based funds) that Highland would have received was $19,456. After the Committee's actions, Highland is now expected to receive $68,709; a difference of $49,253 in additional funds.
As the co-chair of the Joint Committee on Finance (JFC), I am proud of our actions to reward those schools that were open and remained open with in-person instruction. Everyone can agree that students learn better when they are in a classroom with their teacher.
Thank you to the leadership of the Mineral Point and Highland School Districts for your determination to help keep our kids in school.
Sincerely,
Howard Marklein
State Senator
17th Senate District