County to consider providing $3 million in COVID-19 aid funds to local school districts

Spokane County may soon award the region’s school districts an estimated $3 million in COVID-19 funds to help districts provide day camps and internet access for students.

Spokane County Commissioner Mary Kuney said she had already received about $1.7 million in requests for aid from eight school districts and expected the remaining districts in the county would have their requests in by Friday. She said her goal was to provide funding for technology, internet and day camps so parents could return to work and families in the county have the tools to participate in school.

“We certainty want students to have the capability to learn so that they don’t fall further behind,” she said.

Spokane County was awarded a total of $91 million from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act that Congress passed in March and has already spent almost $32.6 million on contact tracing at the Spokane Regional Health District, small business grants, PPE, technology for working from home and a building for a homeless shelter. The funding must be used by the end of December and can only be used on expenses incurred due to the coronavirus.

Spokane Public Schools asked for support for scholarships for day camps, essential workers child care program and a drop-in learning center. The request to the county was about $344,000, and the district has requested $155,000 from the city of Spokane.

Spokane Public Schools spokeswoman Sandra Jarrard said about 2% of Spokane Public Schools families had applied for the day camps and each school would provide slots for their students. Slots for South Hill schools are near capacity, but some spots are available in other areas of the district. There are existing scholarships available for families that cover the costs of day camps.

Central Valley School District has requested $420,000 in CARES funding from the county to pay for learning support sites. The district partnered with 10 local churches, the Boys and Girls Club and the HUB Sports Center to provide a safe location for children who have working parents or other challenges to do their class work. The program will be free for all students except for the 50 who sign up for programs at the HUB, which will provide more activities and cost $50 a week.

Terrie VanderWegan, associate superintendent of equity as well as elementary learning and teaching, said the program will be available for up to 450 children from kindergarten to sixth grade. The program was first open to children with the highest needs. Principals and school counselors identified those children. The program will be opened up to other families on Friday, focusing on those with working or single parents.

The CARES Funds from the county will pay for the staffing at the facilities. There will be a team on site that will help students with computer issues and supervise the space.

“They’ll provide that caring adult for that student who may not have the structure that they need to provide that optimal learning environment,” VanderWegan said.

Smaller school districts kept their requests focused on access to internet and technology, which has been an issue in the more rural corners of the county. In Liberty School District, which covers Fairfield, Spangle and Latah, Waverly, Mount Hope and Plaza, greater than 10% of families have internet access issues.

Superintendent Brett Baum said some families have internet, but it’s not strong enough to support programs required for class. Others have limited to no access. He said the school made a deal with T-Mobile to acquire 100 hotspots for students. He said he’s requested the county cover the cost of those hot spots for students, which will likely end up costing the school around $24,000.

“If there’s anything the county could do to defray that cost for us, it would be greatly appreciated,” he said.

Kuney said she hoped to vote on the funding by Tuesday, but if some districts aren’t able to finish their requests by then, she was open to looking at their requests later.

“Each district is doing a little bit different as they all get started, (but) we want to make sure that we’re there to help,” she said.

Commissioners are also considering using CARES Act funds outside of this program to help universities and private schools acquire PPE, which Kuney said they may look into in the next few weeks.

Commissioners Josh Kerns and Al French said they were both open to approving school funding next week as long as all requests fit the requirements of the CARES Act.

French said the commissioners cannot use funding to take care of curriculum or other basic education items, but he said he is willing to support any efforts to reduce risk of infection in schools or allow distance learning.

“The biggest thing we want to make sure that kids and teachers and staff are safe and we don’t end up with infectious community spread like we’re seeing down at (Washington State University),” he said.

Kerns echoed French’s comments, saying he was willing to support the requests once the county’s grants manager reviews them for eligibility for CARES funds.

“K-12 education is extremely important and if the CARES act funds allows us to help our students continue their education and alleviate that stress or uncertainty for their parents, it’s something I’m willing to do,” he said.

This story was updated to correct the spelling of Sanda Jarrard’s name.