Afrigather Dive Transient:
- Virginia faculty building initiatives are getting a funding enhance. The Virginia Board of Training has awarded $365 million for new school construction, renovations and upgrades. The cash will fund 40 initiatives in elementary, center and excessive faculties throughout 28 faculty divisions primarily positioned in central, south and western Virginia.
- Builds receiving funds embrace $18 million for 3 initiatives in Roanoke, $20 million for Halifax County Excessive Faculty in South Boston and practically $50 million throughout three faculties in Danville.
- The state’s board of schooling didn’t award the entire $450 million accredited by the Virginia Basic Meeting, indicating the leftover $84 million may very well be doled out in a second spherical of awards.
Dive Perception:
Nationwide, schools anticipate a burst of federally funded upgrades to services this summer season. That’s partly attributable to loosening of backlogged initiatives and summer season break, which makes faculty building simpler within the absence of most college students and workers.
Congress accredited the pandemic Elementary and Secondary Faculty Emergency Aid funds in 2020 and 2021, however it might take months or years to plan and execute these initiatives. Compounded by provide chain issues and labor shortages, districts concern they need to get upgrades transferring earlier than ESSER deadlines hit.
The final and largest allocation at $121.9 billion — generally known as ESSER III — has an obligation deadline of Sept. 30, 2024 and a spending deadline of Jan. 28, 2025.
Within the classroom
Because it pours cash into constructing new faculties, the Commonwealth can be investing in educating its future building workforce.
In April, Lisa Coons, Virginia’s Superintendent of Public Instruction, introduced $600,000 in competitive grants awarded to 16 faculty divisions for upgrading gear for profession and technical schooling and science, know-how, engineering and arithmetic packages. Every division will obtain $37,500 to buy new gear or make different enhancements to reinforce studying.
“These grants proceed to permit our college divisions to develop sturdy and revolutionary CTE packages which can be updated technologically and assist put together college students for the realities and expectations of at this time’s workforce,” Coons mentioned.
