The Maine Wire
  • News
  • Commentary
  • Maine Wire TV
  • Podcasts
  • About
  • Contact
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Trending News
  • Maine Man Faces up to 5 Years, $250,000 Fine for Making False Statements to DEA Officer
  • CMP’s Alleged “Excessive Spending” in 2022 at Center of Upcoming Maine PUC Hearings
  • The Supreme Court Case That Could Make the Taxation of Unrealized Income Unconstitutional
  • Maine Hospital CEO Threatens to Fire 500 Employees If They Don’t Get Flu Vaccine
  • Washington Post Guild Announces a Planned One Day Strike on Thursday
  • RFK: Scientists in 2014 Warned Fauci Would Cause Global Pandemic — Instead of Shutting Down, Fauci Moved His Research to China
  • Controversial EV Mandate Scheduled for Discussion by Maine BEP Just Days Before Christmas
  • Supreme Court Declares ADA Tester’s Lawsuit Against Maine Hotel Moot
Facebook Twitter Instagram
The Maine Wire
Login
Friday, December 8
  • News
  • Commentary
  • Maine Wire TV
  • Podcasts
  • About
  • Contact
The Maine Wire
Home » News » School districts are using their COVID-19 relief money on vape detectors, tennis courts
Commentary

School districts are using their COVID-19 relief money on vape detectors, tennis courts

Robby SoaveBy Robby SoaveDecember 10, 2021Updated:December 10, 2021No Comments3 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Email LinkedIn Reddit
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email

Earlier this year, schools around the country received more than a hundred billion dollars from the federal government—American taxpayers, in truth—in order to recover from the pandemic and finally get back to the task of teaching kids.

The feds stipulated that 20 percent of that money be put toward addressing learning losses during the pandemic, but the bulk of it can be spent at schools’ discretion. Which means, of course, that many schools are using this sudden injection of cash to make improvements that have nothing to do with keeping COVID-19 at bay.

“Some districts are investing big money in initiatives that don’t appear at first glance strictly COVID-related,” notes Education Week. “Miami-Dade schools plan to spend $30 million, or $86 per student, on cybersecurity. Raleigh County schools in West Virginia lists a $9 million effort—more than $800 per student—to expand an elementary school, adding nine classrooms, upgrading the library, expanding the kitchen, and separating the cafeteria and the gym. The Newport News school district in Virginia is spending $840,000 for a new student information system to help teachers catalog students’ academic progress.”

An unnamed school district will use some of its COVID-19 relief funds to install vape detection devices, purchase new student ID cards, and build a tennis court.

Indeed, many districts seem to be spending significant chunks of money on upgrading athletic facilities and expanding stadiums, according to Education Week. Athletics can be an important part of many students’ lives, and letting kids get back to sports was a good reason (among many) to move away from the soul-crushing farce of virtual learning and get everybody back in school. But a slightly nicer football field probably isn’t going to improve students’ test scores or make them safer from COVID-19, which after all are the two primary justifications for all the spending.

In October, Reason‘s Brian Doherty noted a terrific report from ProPublica that detailed one Texas school district’s plan “to spend $4 million of its education pandemic relief funds to construct a 5-acre outdoor learning environment connected to a local nature and birding center owned by the city.” The project is not expected to be completed until 2024, at which point it will no longer be necessary—hopefully—to hold classes outdoors.

The American public education system’s grand reopening, which largely took place this fall, has not produced severe outbreaks of COVID-19 in schools. Given this, it might actually make some sense for schools to spend the money on things that don’t involve pandemic mitigation. Of course, if they spend the money on personnel, they could eventually end up with a shortfall once the pile runs out; districts certainly won’t want to lower salaries or fire staff once that happens.

In any event, the decision on how to spend the money rests with state and local officials. The federal government has asked states to pay attention to where the money is going, but there’s little incentive for districts to report responsibly. In North Carolina, several colleges with fewer students received significantly more money than other colleges that enroll more students. WRAL, a local station, asked dozens of the schools to explain how they planned to spend the money. Not a single one replied.

Robby Soave is a senior editor at Reason. This article first appeared on Reason.com.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Commentary coronavirus covid relief funds COVID-19 education Education Funding Featured Opinion pandemic reason reason.com
Previous ArticleGov. Mills activates Maine National Guard to address capacity concerns in healthcare system
Next Article The author who warned us against blindly trusting ‘the Science’
Robby Soave

Robby Soave is a senior editor at Reason. He enjoys writing about culture, politics, education policy, criminal justice reform, television, and video games. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Daily Beast, U.S. News & World Report, The Orange County Register, and The Detroit News.

Related Posts

Penobscot County Sheriff Troy Morton Tells Fox News’ Laura Ingraham to Hide The Fact That 270+ Illegal Marijuana Grows in Maine Are Run by Chinese Organized Crime [VIDEO]

November 30, 2023

Henry Kissinger Dead

November 30, 2023

Maine Leads the Nation in a Terrible Category

November 21, 2023

Leave A Reply

Recent News

Maine Man Faces up to 5 Years, $250,000 Fine for Making False Statements to DEA Officer

December 7, 2023

CMP’s Alleged “Excessive Spending” in 2022 at Center of Upcoming Maine PUC Hearings

December 7, 2023

The Supreme Court Case That Could Make the Taxation of Unrealized Income Unconstitutional

December 7, 2023

Washington Post Guild Announces a Planned One Day Strike on Thursday

December 6, 2023

RFK: Scientists in 2014 Warned Fauci Would Cause Global Pandemic — Instead of Shutting Down, Fauci Moved His Research to China

December 6, 2023
Newsletter

News

  • News
  • Campaigns & Elections
  • Opinion & Commentary
  • Media Watch
  • Education
  • Media

Maine Wire

  • About the Maine Wire
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us
  • Submit Commentary
  • Complaints
  • Maine Policy Institute

Resources

  • Maine Legislature
  • Legislation Finder
  • Get the Newsletter
  • Maine Wire TV

Facebook Twitter Instagram Steam RSS
  • Post Office Box 7829, Portland, Maine 04112

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

Sign In or Register

Welcome Back!

Login below or Register Now.

Lost password?

Register Now!

Already registered? Login.

A password will be e-mailed to you.