Minnesota schools eager for federal COVID-19 relief aid

Minnesota schools struggling with soaring expenses and declining funding streams are in line to get some help from the new federal COVID-19 aid package - far more than they did from the first round of stimulus money earlier last year.

It's not clear yet exactly how much the state's schools will receive, but the new bill provides $82 billion for education nationwide, including $54 billion for K-12 schools and $23 billion for higher education. That's four times as much as schools received in March in the government's first round of pandemic aid. That funding expired Dec. 30.

In Minnesota, where many districts are preparing to reopen elementary schools later this month, school leaders are eager to secure money that can help buy cleaning products and plexiglass barriers, pay for workers hired to help students with technology, provide free child care to the children of front-line workers and help expand support services for students who have fallen behind academically during the pandemic.

https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-schools-eager-for-federal-covid-19-relief-aid/600005918/