By Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer
Parents will not have to buy the normal list of school supplies in Elmore and Autauga Counties to start the 2021 school year, thanks to strong local leadership and help from the federal government.
Confirmed by both Autauga County Superintendent, Timothy Tidmore and Elmore County Superintendent, Richard Dennis, Pre-K-12th grade students will not have to buy ‘school house door materials’ for the 2021-2022 school year. This includes paper, pencils, notebooks, binders, etc.
Money was granted through several federal title funds and ESSER Funds (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief), legislation that has provided unprecedented levels of support for education.
The legislation was passed in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Supplies across both counties will vary based on grade, be boxed, and given to each student individually. Materials will not include specialty classes, such as art supplies. All materials in both counties were purchased through their central offices.
Tidmore explained that funds will help families all across Autauga County.
“There’s a lot of parents out there that have been hurting financially because of Covid and we think this will be a great way to help all those families that are struggling right now,” Tidmore said. “People are still rebounding, and we want to do everything in our power to take some of that financial burden off of them.”
Dennis explained that the situation in Elmore County is nearly identical.
“We want to utilize these federal funds that have been received to help out all of our students and families in Elmore County. The funds will be dispersed across all schools in an equitable fashion, based on the size of the school,” Dennis said.
In all, Autauga County received $479,000 for supplies to utilize across all schools, while Elmore County received $500,000.
“This is part of a plan that we submitted to the State back in January, so we’re just happy that everything’s been finalized now,” Tidmore said.
Tidmore also explained that parents in Autauga County will not be asked to give donations in any form or fashion.
In Elmore County, Holtville Elementary Principal, Chris Holley, says that support from families has been widespread.
“We recently put a post out on Facebook that showed the supplies that we’d be giving to the kids, and it got 20,000 views and 200 shares in a really short period of time. We’re telling parents to bring a bookbag with their child on the first day of class, and we’ll take care of the rest,” Holley said.
Per NEA.org:
Federal emergency aid for public education over the last year has come through three separate laws:
- CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act, March 2020
- CRRSA (Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations) Act, December 2020
- ARP (American Rescue Plan) Act, March 2021
The Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund is the main source of funding for public elementary and secondary education under each law. As each succeeding law was enacted, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) modified the acronym ESSER to distinguish one fund from the other. Collectively, they are known as ESSER funds. In addition, each subsequent law extended the period of time that the funds can be used.
Nationally, $190 billion in federal emergency aid is provided to states through the ESSER funds in support of public elementary and secondary education, or about $3,700 per student.
