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How three Mississippi school districts are spending $207 million in federal relief funds

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How three Mississippi school districts are spending $207 million in federal relief funds

Flush with $2.3 billion in federal pandemic relief funds, school districts across the state are working to spend them on improvements, technology, and catching up on learning lost in the pandemic. 

The Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund was created initially by the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act and then subsequently replenished in two other pieces of federal legislation, creating three separate pots of money for the state and districts to spend. 

READ MORE: How much pandemic relief funds has your school district spent?

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reviewed the spending plans and spoke to local officials in three school districts which collectively received roughly $207 million: the Jackson Public School District, Ocean Springs School District, and Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District. Across the districts, the major spending themes are reopening schools safely, learning loss recovery, and infrastructure improvements.

A national analysis of district spending plans by FutureEd, an education policy think tank at Georgetown , found that districts with higher poverty levels are receiving significantly more ESSER dollars per student, nearly 10 times more when comparing the highest and lowest poverty districts. FutureEd said this difference stems from Congress allocating the funds using the Title I funding formula, which distributes federal funding to schools based on the number of low-income enrolled.

FutureEd also found that the higher the poverty rate in a district, the more likely administrators were to allocate money to heating, venting, and conditioning (HVAC) updates and purchasing new instructional materials. 

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For example, in the Jackson Public School District, every school is budgeted to receive HVAC renovations, which are also often accompanied by window replacements or roof repairs. Chief of Staff William Merritt explained that these additional repairs are necessary to ensure that the new HVAC can effectively.

Merritt said it would have been ideal to be allowed to use the federal dollars for building new facilities, since the district's aging infrastructure means that repairing one problem often means finding another, but “that's something that we can't necessarily do at this time,” referencing the federal regulations that limit new construction. 

Statewide, districts are using, on average, nearly half of their money from the third and largest pot of federal dollars on infrastructure. Most of it has gone to HVAC upgrades, buses, outdoor learning spaces, bathroom upgrades, technology, and new floors. 

All three of the districts Mississippi Today spoke to are investing in HVAC upgrades. Leaders said these upgrades are a good preventative measure against airborne diseases like , and a needed long-term investment because many buildings have outdated units. 

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District leaders also explained that the influx of federal dollars has created a supply and demand problem for contractors and parts. Coupled with the national supply chain issues, upgrades have been  more costly in some cases and districts are pressured to get all of their projects done on time.

National leaders have recognized this pressure, giving states the ability to apply for extensions up to 14 months past the original deadlines. Since the funding came in waves, the spending deadlines do as well. The deadlines to have the money obligated for each pot are Sept. 30 of 2022, 2023, and 2024, but a grace period is built in that gives schools a few extra months to disperse final payments. Per the new extension option that is available, these initial deadlines to award contracts will still be in place, but the grace period to make payments on those contracts has been extended.  

The Mississippi Department of Education confirmed that they are applying for an extension on the first round of federal funding. 

The first pot of money, which districts began receiving in the summer of 2020, was targeted to reopening schools. It was used to make a significant investment in sanitation, initially meeting the immediate need for masks and cleaning supplies, later purchasing disinfectant sprayers with additional funding. 

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Anna Guntharp, assistant superintendent in the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District, said that initial emphasis on personal protective equipment came from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance, but that they have found it to be a good practice to keep generally even as public understanding about how COVID spreads has changed. 

“There's always a risk of transmitting viruses of any kind in a school,” Guntharp said. “Going forward, during flu season or even common cold season, we want to keep our kids safe. I think it was still money well spent even post COVID-19.”

Reopening efforts also included significant purchases of technology. The push to get each student a device saw significant support from the Legislature and Mississippi Department of Education, but districts also spent millions on laptops, tablets, video conferencing cameras, improving broadband connectivity, licensing virtual learning programs, and digital textbooks.

This investment in technology has long-lasting benefits for the students in the Jackson Public School District, according to Merritt, the chief of staff. The district, which often struggles with school closures caused by water pressure issues, will now be able to pivot to virtual instruction for other circumstances outside of a spike in disease transmission to avoid lost school days. 

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Extending instructional time is a key tactic to addressing the national decline in student achievement since 2019, frequently referred to as pandemic learning loss. This decline is one of the major focuses of the federal funding, with Congress creating a requirement for the third and largest pot of money that at least 20% must be spent addressing learning loss. 

Districts are primarily pursuing two methods to address this decline: interventionists to work directly with students on concepts they're struggling with in their larger classes, and after school and summer school programs to increase classroom hours. 

Tonya Bolton, director of federal programs for the Ocean Springs School District, said the district has been analyzing data for each school to determine individualized of need, focusing on concepts from earlier grades that students may have missed and getting them up to grade level. Bolton said internal data shows their efforts have been effective enough that they may continue to invest money in having interventionists even after the federal funding runs out. 

Guntharp said approximately 14% of students in the Starkville-Oktibbeha School District are currently working with interventionists, and the district is also looking for ways to afford retaining the ones they hired after the district runs out of federal funds. 

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Laura Anderson, associate director of the Edunomics Lab, said increased per-student spending doesn't always lead to better outcomes, which makes it crucial for districts to constantly evaluate the effectiveness of their learning loss recovery plans – a sentiment education researchers have also echoed in recent reports on district level learning loss. 

“We have this infusion (of money); what are our kids getting for it?” Anderson asked. “And if we don't think that we're getting the results that we wanted for our kids, how do we pivot? Districts have to be told it's okay to be nimble and to make those changes.”

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Mississippi Today

Senate committee passes Medicaid ‘expansion’ bill that leaves hundreds of millions in federal dollars on table

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mississippitoday.org – Sophia Paffenroth and Taylor Vance – 2024-03-27 16:39:21

The only surviving expansion bill in the Legislature passed the Senate Medicaid Committee Wednesday and is headed to the full Senate for a vote. 

But the proposal, as it passed the Senate committee, is not considered traditional “expansion” under the Affordable Care Act, and therefore would not qualify for the enhanced federal the grants to newly-expanded states. It would leave the cost of the expanded coverage up to the .

The Senate committee passed the House Republican bill with a strike-all, meaning it replaced the bill's original language with its own plan, which Medicaid Committee Chairman Kevin Blackwell, R-Southaven, refers to as “expansion light.”

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Blackwell estimated about 80,000 people would be eligible under this version of expansion, and half of that would apply. The House plan was expected to cover more than 200,000 people.

When a draft of the Senate's bill was leaked on March 20, Blackwell stressed to that he and Senate leaders were still tweaking parts of the legislation. However, the legislation that passed the committee is essentially the same as what was outlined in the leaked draft. 

The Senate proposal would:

  • Cover working Mississippians up to 99% of the federal poverty level. For an individual, that would be an annual income up to $15,060. For a of four, that would be an annual income up to $31,200.
  • Not cover those making between 100% and 138% of the federal poverty threshold — not even through a private-care option. A plan that doesn't cover people making up to 138% is not considered “expansion” under the Affordable Care Act, meaning Mississippi wouldn't qualify for the 90% federal match rate that the Affordable Care Act grants to new expansion states, nor the additional, two-year 5% increase in match rate the federal government provides to newly-expanded states under pandemic relief spending passed by Congress. Instead, as was the case with Georgia, Mississippi would only get its regular federal Medicaid rate of about 77%.
  • Leave the insurance exchange, the online marketplace that offers federally subsidized plans to people who make between 100% and 138% of the federal poverty level, intact. The Senate plan, unlike Arkansas' Medicaid expansion, would not provide extra subsidies from the state's federal Medicaid money available from the ACA.
  • Include a work requirement mandating at least 120 hours of employment a month in a position for which health insurance is not paid for by the employer. That's more stringent than Georgia's plan, which mandates 80 hours a month. There are several exemptions, such as for full-time or parents who are the primary caregiver of a child under six years old.
  • Go into effect 30 days after the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services approves a waiver necessary for the work requirement. That's unlikely to happen under the Biden administration, which has rescinded work requirements previously approved for other states during the Trump administration and has not approved new ones. If the federal government denies the waiver, Mississippi would have to wait until a new administration took office, or sue the Biden administration. Georgia remains in litigation with the federal government over the work requirement issue, and has suffered low enrollment and missed out on millions in federal funds by not fully expanding coverage.
  • Require anyone who voluntarily dropped private insurance to wait 12 months before applying for Medicaid coverage.

Senate Democrats voiced several concerns about the administrative burden of the work requirement and the 120 hour a month minimum, which is even stricter than Georgia's plan – currently the strictest expansion plan in the country. 

Sen. David Blount, D-

Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson, asked Blackwell about the enhanced match from the federal government.

“So the federal government paying our match for two years and 90% after the two years – we would not qualify for that?” Blount asked.

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Blackwell said that is correct, and they would leave that money on the table.

Sen. John Horhn, D-Jackson, introduced two amendments: one to decrease the recertification requirements from four times a year to twice a year, and the other to reduce the work requirement hours from 120 hours a month to 80 hours a month. 

Both amendments were voted down by Republicans, who make up a majority of the committee's membership. Despite their amendments getting shot down, the Democrats still voted in favor of the bill. Only three Republican senators in the committee voted against the plan. 

When asked about the administrative burden of enforcing the work requirement, Blackwell said he is not worried and believes the Division of Medicaid has enough employees for its implementation. 

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But Georgia, the only state currently with a work requirement in its expansion plan, has spent $26 million taxpayer dollars to ensure a mere 3,500 people to date. More than 90% of that has gone to administrative and consulting costs. 

The bill is expected to be taken to a floor vote as early as Thursday, with a deadline of April 10. 

Since the Senate plan is drastically different than the House proposal – which is a mostly-traditional expansion plan insuring those who make up to 138% of the federal poverty level and would go into effect whether or not the federal government approves a work requirement waiver – a final version will likely be hammered out later in the session in a conference committee.

Any final plan would realistically need a two-thirds majority from both chambers to show it has the potential to override a potential veto from Republican Gov. Tate Reeves, who has privately told lawmakers he plans to veto any Medicaid expansion bill.

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Reeves on Tuesday night hosted around 20 state senators at the Governor's Mansion in downtown Jackson where he, again, reiterated his opposition to any form of Medicaid expansion, according to multiple people familiar with the situation. 

At the Tuesday night , Reeves said he would veto the Senate's expansion plan if it reached his desk, though he reportedly said he approved the Senate's work requirement provisions. 

Shortly after the committee passed the expansion legislation, Reeves posted on social media that the Senate plan is “still bad policy” and he will oppose it.

“And so I will continue to do what I told the voters I would do – fight Obamacare Medicaid Expansion with every ounce of my being,” Reeves said.  

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This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi Today

Michael Guidry named Mississippi Today managing editor

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Mississippi is pleased to announce Michael Guidry as managing editor.

Guidry, who joined the staff in February 2024, manages the newsroom's day-to-day reporting and plans broader editorial strategy.

He previously served as managing editor at Mississippi Public Broadcasting, where he developed skills in audio storytelling as a producer, writer and editor.

“Michael is a perfect fit for what we're building at Mississippi Today,” said Adam Ganucheau, Mississippi Today's editor-in-chief. “He's a proven newsroom leader, and he knows Mississippi. He also brings us a lot of digital and audio skills that can expect to see more of pretty quickly.”

A native of Destrehan, Louisiana, Guidry moved to Mississippi to attend Millsaps College, where he earned a dual Bachelor of Arts in History and Theatre. After graduating, he worked as a public school teacher for more than a decade.

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Michael Guidry

While at MPB, Guidry helped lead a team that received recognitions from the Radio Television Digital Association, the Mississippi Association of Broadcasters and the Public Journalists Association.

MPB's special feature on – which he co-produced and co-narrated – received the 2023 Region 9 Edward R Murrow Award for Excellence in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Guidry continues to host MPB's weekly politics show @Issue.

“As someone who spent years in a adjacent to Mississippi Today, it became evident the newsroom was quickly becoming a leader in local, nonprofit news,” Guidry said. “I could not be more to join a publication dedicated to elevating the voices of while holding power to account.”

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi Today

Geoff Pender named Mississippi Today politics editor

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is pleased to announce Geoff Pender as Politics and Editor.

Pender, who first joined the Mississippi staff as senior political reporter in May 2020, will oversee the day-to-day reporting of Mississippi Today's politics team.

He brings more than 30 years of experience covering Mississippi politics to the new role.

“If you follow Mississippi politics, you know Geoff Pender,” said Adam Ganucheau, Mississippi Today's editor-in-chief. “He's been a vital member of our politics team since 2020, and we couldn't be more for him to now it. He's been a mentor to so many of our reporters, and he's led several impactful investigations for us. can expect more of that from him in this new job— and if you're wondering, you'll also continue to see plenty of his analysis of the state's biggest stories.”

Geoff Pender

Before joining Mississippi Today, Pender was political and investigative editor at the Clarion Ledger, where he also penned a popular political column. He previously served as an investigative reporter and political editor at the Sun Herald, where he was a member of the Pulitzer Prize-winning team for Hurricane Katrina coverage.

A native of Florence, Pender is a journalism graduate of the of Southern Mississippi and has received numerous throughout his career for reporting, columns and of information efforts.

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“I truly appreciate this and appreciate being able to continue working with the great team of journalists at Mississippi Today providing in-depth news coverage at such a crucial time for the state,” Pender said.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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