Over $80 million goes to schools across the state
Gov. Tony Evers has announced more than $80 million in financial assistance to Wisconsin’s K-12 schools and higher education institutions. The governor announced the funding to higher education partners, to assist with the challenges faced relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our educators, faculty members, staff and students have risen to the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, adapting with very little warning and planning for a new normal,” said Evers. “I’ve always said what’s best for our kids, is what’s best for our state, so I am hopeful this funding can help alleviate expenses already incurred, and further creative efforts to transition between in-person learning and distance learning seamlessly, as we prepare for the upcoming fall semester and continue to fight COVID-19 in Wisconsin.”
The $46.6 million for K-12 schools will come from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER) established under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, and will prioritize students and districts that have the highest remote learning needs, and have been the most significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The $37 million for higher education institutions will be distributed out of funding provided directly to Wisconsin under the CARES Act, and can be used to reimburse necessary, unbudgeted expenditures made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The governor’s allocation is in addition to the more than $354 million K-12 schools and higher education institutions already received directly through the CARES Act.
In collaboration with the governor’s office, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) will provide additional information about the funding process for K-12 schools. Wisconsin tribal colleges will receive $2 million in funding, with the remaining funding going to UW, technical college and private, non-profit campuses in the state.
The higher education distribution is based on the formula that the CARES Act used in providing direct aid to these institutions, largely based on the number of full-time equivalent Pell Grant recipients who were not enrolled exclusively in distance education, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
