Rep. Mike Levin Announces Estimated $125 Million in Federal Relief for Local School Districts

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Mike Levin (D-CA) announced that local school districts in North County San Diego and South Orange County are estimated to receive a total of $125 million from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) to reopen safely and help students catch up on lost learning during the pandemic. Earlier this week, the Department of Education announced that the State of California will receive more than $15 billion to support K-12 schools.

“As the father of two young children who have done remote learning throughout this pandemic, I share all parents’ eagerness to get kids back in the classroom quickly and safely,” said Rep. Levin. “The American Rescue plan provides the federal funding schools need to reopen schools safely by reducing class sizes, modifying spaces to allow for social distancing, and investing in better ventilation and personal protective equipment. It also requires schools to use a portion of the funding to help make up for lost learning with strategies like enhanced summer school. We know that our kids have not received the education they deserve during this pandemic and we have a long way to go to rectify that, but I am glad that local schools will receive the federal funding they need to begin that process.”
 
The ARP created an Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund to provide relief for K-12 schools. The ARP requires State Educational Agencies (SEAs) to use 90 percent of the ESSER funding they receive to make subgrants to Local Educational Agencies (LEAs). Those subgrants must be made in proportion to each LEA’s share of actual Title I-A grants made to all LEAs in the state during the most recent fiscal year (FY2020). The following funding estimates for local LEAs were compiled by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) and may not represent final funding amounts:
 

• Capistrano Unified School District: $39,943,000
• Cardiff Elementary School District: $620,000
• Carlsbad Unified School District: $7,796,000
• Del Mar Union Elementary School District: $2,068,000
• Encinitas Union Elementary School District: $3,198,000
• Oceanside Unified School District: $30,811,000
• San Dieguito Union High School District: $6,289,000
• Vista Unified School District: $46,691,000

 
On March 17, the Department of Education wrote a letter to each State Education Commissioner informing them that the Department will begin making funds available to states this month. The ARP instructs states to distribute funds to LEAs within 60 days.