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South Bend Schools Seeking Additional Public Input On How To Spend COVID Relief Funds

Justin Hicks / WVPE

 

South Bend Community School Corporation has announced a series of public meetings to take input on how the district should spend federal COVID-19 relief funds. The district is getting $92.7 million in federal elementary and secondary school emergency relief funds.

 

During the July 12 school board meeting, the district outlined plans to use the money for improving academic achievement, funding infrastructure and technology upgrades and supporting teachers.

 

The district is required to send about $1.6 million to local non-public schools, and has pledged to spend another $20 million on Empowerment Zone schools.

 

That leaves about $71 million for South Bend’s remaining public schools, and the district is dividing that money into four categories — accelerated learning, updating technology and infrastructure, supporting educators and sustaining innovation.

 

Now, the district is seeking additional community input on how to spend the funds over three in-person meetings, one each Wednesday for the next three weeks:

 

  • Wednesday, August 18, 5:30 — 7 p.m. at the Western Branch Public Library, 611 Lombardy Dr., South Bend
  • Wednesday, August 25th, 5:30 — 7pm at the Kroc Center, 900 W. Western Ave., South Bend
  • Wednesday, September 1, 5:30 — 7p.m at the River Park Branch Public Library, 2022 E. Mishawaka Ave., South Bend

Contact Jakob at jlazzaro@wvpe.org or follow him on Twitter at @JakobLazzaro.

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Jakob Lazzaro came to Indiana from Chicago, where he graduated from Northwestern University in 2020 with a degree in Journalism and a double major in History. Before joining WVPE, he wrote NPR's Source of the Week e-mail newsletter, and previously worked for CalMatters, Pittsburgh's 90.5 WESA and North by Northwestern.