Multiple school districts and charters in Arizona have not obligated all the federal COVID-related funding that was appropriated to them by Congress in 2021, despite repeated attempts by the Arizona Department of Education to encourage them to do so.
The failure leaves millions of dollars on the table as pro-public school activists continue to complain about a lack of funding.
The deadline for districts and charters to obligate funds under the ESSER III law is September 30. To date, $2.36 billion, or 81 percent, of the state’s allocation has been spent with 19 percent, or $432 million, remaining. This is a deadline to obligate money. Districts and charters have until December 31, 2024, to draw down these dollars.
“In 2021, Congress appropriated billions of dollars to schools throughout the country to help mitigate the effect of the pandemic,” said Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne. “This money is not spent by the Arizona Department of Education but is passed through to local districts and charters for them to manage. Every district or charter that received these dollars was told in 2021 that the deadline to obligate ESSER III funds is September 30 of 2024. We have been in contact, in many cases multiple times, with districts and charters to remind them of their responsibility to obligate these funds. Most are showing the ability to do this, but a number of them are at great risk of reverting funds. That outcome is still avoidable if they simply do the work that we have been urging them to do.”
In August, the department reiterated the importance of this deadline and since that time, the amount of funds being drawn down increased approximately $175 million. However, several districts or charters have not obligated any of their funds and have not yet submitted the documentation to ensure those funds are obligated. They are Khalsa Family Services, Satori, Inc. and the Pima County Accommodation District. Many other districts or charters have obligated only a fraction of their funds and while most are responding to the department’s request to demonstrate their commitment to obligate the funding, some refuse to do so.
The Department of Education has a dashboard on its website showing the status of all the districts and charters that have received ESSER III dollars. This data is not designed to show real-time progress being made with some districts and charters that are on track to meet the deadline. It is updated periodically.