Many Indiana spending plans unclear for federal aid money

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Indiana schools are set to receive nearly $3 billion in federal coronavirus relief over the next three years, but districts vary widely on information they have released about that money and a state online tracking system is still being developed.

Advocates and policymakers say that without clear information from school districts, it is difficult to follow the spending decisions and spot misuse, WFYI-FM of Indianapolis reported.

School districts have broad latitude on how to spend the aid money, with possible uses including paying for tutors, social workers, longer school days or building repairs.

Federal law requires school districts to submit spending plans to the state, and the Indiana Department of Education reviews those applications to ensure the plans comply with guidelines, agency spokeswoman Holly Lawson said.

But the state has not publicly posted the applications it has received. Lawson said the department plans to launch a dashboard soon with some district-level information on the federal funding.

'œWe want to have this in the most user-friendly way possible so that someone can hop on and see the local spending from each (federal funding) round,'ť she said.

Anderson Community Schools posted online a list of ideas for how it might spend some the $27 million it received in the latest funding round. It includes broad categories such as 'œsummer programming, and/or afterschool instruction,'ť and it doesn't say how much the district would spend on any of the items.

Anderson district spokesman Bradley Meadows said the plan did not include details because officials are 'œcommitted to taking our time to ensure this funding is used most effectively.'ť

Marisa Little, vice president of the Anderson teachers union, said the district should have done more to publicize the money it is receiving, as many staff members were unaware of federal assistance coming.

The South Bend schools, meanwhile, created an online tracker showing plans for its $93 million in aid so it is clear that the money is short-term, said Kareemah Fowler, the district's chief financial officer.

'œThere's a lot to be done, but we really do have an opportunity right now with these funds,'ť Fowler said. 'œI think every district does have an opportunity to not only fill the gap, the learning loss gap, but how do we reimagine education for our students in Indiana.'ť