RCSD Receives Almost $90 Million From First Federal Aid Package

The Rochester City School District will soon receive about $87 million from the first COVID-19 relief bill that was passed in December of last year.

The most recent COVID-19 relief package will bring in somewhere around $200 million.

The total amount of federal aid will provide around 1/3 of the school’s budget for the year, but federal and state governments have a say in how the cash is spent.

Instead of just handing over the money, the stipulation is that RCSD has to find a way to use the capital to find one time uses that won’t lead to a major let-down when the money goes away next year.

Brian Cechnicki, executive director of the Association of School Business Officials of New York commented on the situation, saying:

“When you get an infusion of cash like this, you’re not just going to hire a bunch of staff for a year and then lay them off again. It’s all well and good that districts will have this extra money for 2021-22 school year, but if the state allocates it in a way that creates a fiscal cliff, we’ll be right back where we were five years ago.”

Source:
Democrat & Chronicle