COVID-19 Funding Awarded to St. Cloud School Area District

ST. CLOUD -- A substantial amount of COVID-19 funding is being provided to the St. Cloud Area School District.

The district has been awarded funds under the federal CARES Act distributed in multiple funds from the Minnesota Department of Education.

A total of just over $5.7 million is coming from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief fund (GEER), the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief fund (ESSER), and the Coronavirus Relief fund (CRF).

Each fund has requirements for how the money can be spent, but the intent is to cover costs specifically created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Executive Director of Finance and Business Services Amy Skaalerud says they have a large list of priorities for spending the money.

The devices for students and staff, online subscriptions will be a part of the various funding sources, personal protective equipment, screening supplies, cleaning supplies, additional custodial support, translation services is another one.

The GEER and ESSER funds can be used for expenses starting back on March 13th and running all the way through September 30th, 2022, but the CRF funds have a smaller window from July 7th until December 30th.

In addition to these state funds, the St. Cloud Area School District has been awarded just over $1 million dollars from Stearns County and around $19,000 from Wright County. Those funds expire on December 1st.