Hundreds of District Leaders Sign Letter to Cardona Urging Late Liquidation Flexibility

On Monday, almost 700 district leaders from 47 states sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona urging the Department to immediately issue guidance that will clarify how much additional time districts can have to spend ARP funding for contracted services, projects and personnel. Additional time to liquidate the ARP funds ensures that districts can maintain the critical pandemic-related services students require to overcome the challenges of the past three academic years.

This letter, signed by not only superintendents but school business officials and educational service agency directors, is the first open sign-on letter to the Secretary in many years. The breadth and depth of the signatories—the letter includes some of the largest and smallest districts in the country—demonstrates the urgency of this issue and the importance of knowing when and how this flexibility will be granted to districts.

To read the letter and signatories you can click here. We will update the blogpost if we hear a response from the Department or the Secretary.