The Healdsburg Unified School District (HUSD) is receiving $1,697,674 in funding from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) III fund and plans to use the funding to provide additional staff and support services such as social-emotional curriculum.
The HUSD Board of Trustees approved the district’s ESSER expenditure plan at their most recent meeting on Oct. 20 at Healdsburg City Hall.
ESSER funds are part of the American Rescue Plan Act and must be adopted as an expenditure plan by the board of trustees no later than Oct. 29, 2021. After board approval, the plan is submitted to the Sonoma County Office of Education for review and approval.
According to the agenda item report, at least 20% of the ESSER allocation must be used for expenditures related to addressing the academic impact of lost learning time through the implementation of interventions such as summer school or afterschool programs.
“The HUSD ESSER III Plan will provide additional staff and support services including health care professionals, counselors, teachers, paraprofessionals, social-emotional curriculum and data, increased summer learning opportunities and paid-time for teachers to plan, prepare, and adjust curriculum to meet the needs of students,” the agenda item report states.
Per the district’s expenditure plan, $917,674 will be set aside for lost instructional time.
The funds will provide for the following
– $42,674 for a bilingual paraprofessional at Healdsburg High School;
– $105,000 for an additional counselor at Healdsburg Junior High School;
– $35,000 for stipends for teachers to prepare and complete COVID related independent study;
– $120,000 for intervention programs at Healdsburg Elementary Fitch Mountain Campus;
– $75,000 for a teacher at Marce Becerra Academy;
– $120,000 for paraprofessionals for Healdsburg Elementary School and Healdsburg Elementary Fitch Mountain Campus;
– $20,000 for social emotional learning labs and YouthTruth Survey work;
– $250,000 for additional teachers and class sections;
– $100,000 for summer learning programs;
– $50,000 for teacher extra duty work.
“We can add additional sections. We saw kids fail math and science so we’ve added additional sections of math and science and Spanish for kids to retake,” said Erin Fender, the district’s director of curriculum and instruction. “This is keeping class sizes low at the elementary and without this additional funding we’d be looking at stacking classes.”
Trustee Rose McAllister said she’s glad to see funds going toward additional classes and teachers.
“I think additional teachers and sections is really the heart and soul of what this is about, that one-on-one work and a really positive teaching ratio and the availability of good teachers to remedy what we know was a very difficult year for many if not all students,” McAllister said.
Another portion of the money, a total of $780,000, is for safe in-person learning.
The funds will be used for the following:
– $60,000 for certified nursing assistants for contact tracing and medical support;
– $50,000 for additional nurse time;
– $300,000 for two additional mental health counselors;
– $370,000 for heating, ventilation and air conditioning upgrades at elementary sites.
“Most of this spending is going to be for the end of this year,” Fender said of the funds.
Expenditures can be made now until Sept. 30, 2024. Fender said the expenditure plan is a living document and changes can be made without Sonoma County Office of Education approval so long as any changes are approved by the school board.
