{"id":19422,"date":"2024-09-12T09:12:13","date_gmt":"2024-09-12T09:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.xello.world\/blog\/perkins-funding\/"},"modified":"2025-11-05T05:48:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T10:48:15","slug":"perkins-funding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.xello.world\/en-ca\/resources\/blog-posts\/perkins-funding\/","title":{"rendered":"Filling the ESSER Gap with Perkins Funding"},"content":{"rendered":"

Remember the bad old days when COVID was raging? Schools had to figure out how to operate while minimizing the chance an outbreak would occur. Experts debated how to insulate schools, but all were certain it would require increased funding.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Thankfully, the pandemic has passed, but the funding challenges that K-12 schools face remain. To make up for funding shortages, school districts must consider other outside sources, such as the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act. Perkins\u00a0 or Perkins V as it is known is currently the primary federal funding source for high school and postsecondary CTE programs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The End of ESSER\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

Federal relief for school budgets during the pandemic came from ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief). There were three batches of <\/span>ESSER funds<\/span><\/a>, with the first (worth $13.5 billion) being part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security or CARES Act, which passed in March 2020.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

ESSER II, which allocated over $54.3 billion towards education, was part of the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021. ESSER III, which arrived later that same year as part of the American Rescue Plan, poured in nearly $122 billion.<\/span><\/p>\n

Add it up, and you have approximately $190 billion in extra federal dollars for K-12 school districts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Three years later, the money spigot is nearly closed. Funds from ESSER I and II have lapsed. Districts are required to obligate funds from ESSER III by September 30, 2024. If districts are granted an extension, the actual expenditure of the funds can occur through the end of December or through March 2026.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Complex Impact of ESSER Funds\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

While they were intended to help schools operate through the pandemic, <\/span>the guidelines on how to use them<\/span><\/a> were broad and challenging:<\/span><\/p>\n