Which funds and where? Specifically, monies from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund — one of three primary emergency relief funds that are part of the Education Stabilization Fund, created March 27, 2020, with the signing into law of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Local education agencies and entities have until Sept. 30, 2022, to spend funding they have received via this CARES Act stream. (Two similar funds, ESSER II and ESSER III, were created by the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, and the American Rescue Plan Act, respectively. Their respective deadlines are Sept. 30, 2023, and Sept. 30, 2024.)
Across the state, school districts collectively had nearly $193 million in ESSER I funds remaining unspent as of Aug. 31. Among the entities with notable balances remaining to be spent as of Aug. 31 were*:
- Fresno Unified School District, with $26.7 million unspent.
- Long Beach Unified School District, $15.3 million.
- Elk Grove Unified School District, $8 million.
- Santa Ana Unified School District, $7.6 million.
- Coachella Valley Unified School District, $5.8 million.
- Hesperia Unified School District, $4.6 million.
- Garden Grove Unified School District, $4.1 million.
- Antelope Valley Union High School District, $3.4 million.
- Sweetwater Union High School District, $3.2 million.
- Lake Elsinore Unified School District, $3.1 million.
*Amounts are rounded.
