COLUMBIA, S.C. — Money from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Act will soon expire, meaning any money left unspent will no longer be available to the districts and education groups the money was allotted to.
Funding was passed down from the federal government to the states in three rounds, with this final round, ARP ESSER, set to end on September 30 of this year.
As of March, when the ESSER funding dashboard was last updated, $901 million of the $2 billion allotted to South Carolina through ESSER went unspent.
Money was used to create new positions in schools to intervene with kids behind on learning standards, and even building renovations, says President of the South Carolina Education Association Sherry East.
“One on one tutoring that went on across the state with that money," says East. "We also saw some building repairs that needed to be done. We saw some, you know, facilities situations that were brought to light during COVID. Maybe there were not air conditioners working or HVAC systems that were working as well as they should."
She says it even went to bonuses for teachers during the pandemic.
"Because we couldn't give ongoing raises with that money, because it was one time money that districts were giving bonuses, which resulted in straight up cash for teachers in their bank account as like a retention," East said.
The money also went to nonprofits with education-related missions, such as Wings for Kids, which offers afterschool programs for kids to practice critical needs. Chief Growth Officer Julia Rugg says the funding allowed them to expand their services.
"We've traditionally been in more urban areas in the Charleston community, in the low country, but it's allowed us to reach areas in Calhoun County, in the rural Berkeley County, and then actually be able to serve more students in the Midlands," said Rugg.
News 19 reached out to some school districts about the funding. Richland One Executive Director of Communications Karen York said in a statement: "The third reading of our budget will be presented to the Board at tomorrow night’s meeting. The items that were previously covered under ESSER are addressed in the third reading of the budget.”
According to the Department of Education—there’s no way to renew ESSER funds or get any extension on unspent money. Any money not used by the September 30th deadline will be sent back to the US Treasury Department.