Northern Lehigh School District seeks input from the community on ways to spend money from Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund grants.

Assistant Superintendent Dr. Tania Stoker said the district’s ESSER 1 grant in the amount of $324,575 has been fully expended.

She said the district’s allocation for the second grant was $1,463,02, of which it has spent $246,765, has $362,324 encumbered, and $844,264 on its proposed spending list which leaves $9,649 undetermined or left to be spent.

“Some of the items on our proposed spending list include upgrades to the middle school kitchen, hiring a social worker, software platforms and various computer equipment replacement parts if needed,” Stoker said.

The grant needs to be spent by Sept. 30, 2023.

Stoker said the district’s third allocation was $2,948,680, of which 20%, or $589,736, must be spent to address learning loss caused by the pandemic. To date, she said the district has spent $349,385, has $87,845 encumbered, and has $2,038,224 on its proposed spending list, which leaves $473,226 undetermined or left to be spent.

“Staff salaries, and additional summer learning opportunities for the next three summers, are items that are on our proposed spending list,” Stoker said.

The third grant needs to be expended by Sept. 30, 2024.

Recently, Stoker said the district was notified about an extra $229,342.

“These grants are much more prescriptive in what we can spend the money on,” she said.

Stoker said there is 5% set aside, or $163,816, for learning loss, and noted that 30% of those moneys, or $49,145, must be spent on social, emotional and mental health support for students; 10% of those moneys, or $16,382, must be spent on social, emotional and mental health support for staff, and 8%, or $13,105, must be spent on reading support and improvement. Additionally, she said there’s 1% set aside, or $32,763 for after school program, and 1% set aside, or $32,763, for summer enrichment.

“These grants must be submitted by the end of November in order for us to receive the moneys associated with them,” Stoker said. “We will continue to review and release information as we receive it.

“Lastly, I would just like to remind all the stakeholders in the NLSD community that they’re input regarding our ESSER grants is welcomed, and that there are a variety of ways that they can participate in the decision-making process for these grants. If you have any recommendations, you can contact me directly, or share your ideas at one of our committee meetings of the board.”