PVUSD trustees approve plan for emergency funds

WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday approved a spending plan for the district’s third round of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds, which comes through the American Rescue Plan as a way to help schools nationwide recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Under state law, ESSER funds can be spent on a narrow range of categories, including health and safety, educational technology, mental health services and support, summer and after-school programs and facility repair and improvement.

The funds can also be used to address learning loss caused by nearly one year of distance learning.

The funds must be spent by Sept. 30, 2024. Previously, the district received $3.9 million for the first round of ESSER funds, and $16.3 million for the second.

The majority of the money—$22 million—will go toward facility repair and upgrades, which includes HVAC and roofing repairs, in addition to outdoor spaces for students.

Other expenditures approved Wednesday:

• $200,000 for personal protective equipment such as masks and hand sanitizer
• $1.6 million for literacy intervention instructional aides
• $240,000 for an additional counselor at the district’s alternative education schools
• $5.9 million for academic partnerships with programs such as Life Lab, El Sistema and Digital Nest 
• $1 million for summer and after-school programs
• $126,000 for staffing at the district’s Community Learning Hubs located all district high schools through the 23/24 school year
• $1.1 million for additional socio-emotional counselors 
• $209,000 for family engagement centers
• $767,770 for additional campus security, including school resource officers and campus safety officers at high schools
• $2.3 million to continue PVUSD’s Virtual Academy
• $964,082 for educational technology