AASA Issues Member Survey Results Regarding ARP Funding

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
James Minichello
703-774-6953
jminichello@aasa.org

Alexandria, Va. – February 15, 2022 – School districts plan to invest heavily in expanded summer learning, adding specialist staff and high-quality instructional materials, according to a survey administered by AASA, The School Superintendents Association.  

The School District Spending Of American Rescue Plan reportis part of a multi-series survey focused on how district leaders across the country are utilizing American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and in particular, address student learning recovery. Results from this edition of the survey were released on the eve of AASA’s 2022 National Conference on Education in Nashville, Tenn.  

“AASA believes this infusion of federal funding will have a lasting impact in enabling students to not only recover from lost in-person instruction, but in assisting district leaders in thoughtfully investing federal funds in ways that address longstanding disparities in accessing education opportunities for students that were only exacerbated as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” affirmed the survey.

The survey sought information about two key spending questions:  

• How districts plan to use ARP funds to address unfinished learning during the summer of 2022 and in the 2022-23 school year, and,

• What systemic improvements districts plan to make because of ARP funding over the next three years to improve education outcomes and close equity gaps.

Among key findings:  

• More than three-quarters (76%) of respondents indicated they would continue to invest funds in summer learning and enrichment programming for Summer 2022.

• An overwhelming majority (82%) said they would use this money over the next three years to expand whole child supports, including social, emotional, mental, and physical health and development.

• Two-thirds (66%) said they would be spending money to add staffing and specialists to support student needs.

• More than half (55%) said they would spend a portion of their ARP funding on renovating and updating school facilities.

• Slightly more than half said they needed an extension beyond 2024 to obligate funds for HVAC upgrades and other school construction related projects related to the pandemic, a doubling of the response rate from July.

According to the survey, in many ways, the data on what districts were planning to spend ARP funding on for the summer of 2022 and the 2022-23 school year is considerably similar to their responses to how they planned to spend funding for the 2021-22 school year and for the summer of 2021.

Click hereto part two of the AASA ARP Funding survey. Hundreds of superintendents responded to the survey, which was issued in January. The survey asked nearly identical questions compared to the first surveyiteration issued in July 2021.

For additional questions, please contact Sasha Pudelski, AASA advocacy director, at spudelski@aasa.org.

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About AASA
AASA, The School Superintendents Association, founded in 1865, is the professional organization for more than 13,000 educational leaders in the United States and throughout the world. AASA’s mission is to support and develop effective school system leaders who are dedicated to equitable access for all students to the highest quality public education. For more information, visit www.aasa.org.