EDUCATION

JMCSS looking at how to spend $37 million in grant money

JMCSS Superintendent, Dr. Marlon King, speaks during a Jackson- Madison County School board meeting on Thursday, March 11, 2021 in Jackson, Tenn.

With millions of dollars still coming to Jackson-Madison County School System, leadership is evaluating how to strategically capitalize on using the money, like putting more toward summer learning, paying for employee positions, forming new programs with grant funding and continuing to utilize funds for building projects across JMCSS.

The district is being allocated $37 million in ESSER 3.0 grant funding, following $16.7 million in ESSER (Elementary and Secondary Emergency Relief)2.0 and $3 million-plus in CARES Act funding.

Each grant outlines areas the funding can be used on. The latest grant can be used for academics, student readiness, educator needs and others - which include technology, facilities, maintenance, human resources, student services, transportation, future needs' and monitoring, according to superintendent Marlon King.

The funds should be used for projects by 2025.

“That gives us the greatest opportunity to look at our strategic plan, look at the activities we want in the plan and see how much of these dollars we can put toward those activities in the plan,” King said.  “It’s like a blessing in disguise; we can use federal monies to support our five-year strategic plan.”

Five-year strategic plans are required by the state board of education, and the school board should review it throughout the year, track its progress and update it as needed.

In March, the board identified activities and strategies that could be helpful in improving literacy, numeracy and career readiness – areas that were identified in one of the district’s new goals during a November 2020 board retreat.

Their ideas included SAT and ACT camps, schoolwide reading programs, college fairs, literacy readers, educational assistants in kindergarten, focused training on soft skills, LOOP (Local Options and Opportunities Program) expansion and literacy nights among others.

Read more: Boardroom bits - King seeks board input on improving literacy, career readiness

Leadership plans to implement a level-based rubric for each activity they choose to use, meaning leadership will be able to determine an activity’s implementation progress and then decide if and how that activity should be revised over time.

Janice Hampton looks over the notes as she asks a question during the school board meeting at Liberty High School in Jackson, Tenn., Monday, Nov. 9, 2020.

Board member Janice Hampton asked about using the funding for capital projects, which made up a bulk of the ESSER 2.0 proposal.

Because the list of allowable projects includes facilities and future needs, the district should be able to request funding for some of its capital projects, such as replacing HVAC systems and investing in touchless systems, King said. 

King said some JMCSS employee positions can be funded with that ESSER 3.0 grant funding. They’d eliminate those positions from the budget and place them in the grant proposal for state approval.

Though ESSER funding is allocated, JMCSS must apply for the funds by detailing a plan for what the money will be used for, and it must be approved by the state. The application opened in mid-April and will close by mid-June.

King will present more information about the positions in the coming months.

Adjustments to 2.0 proposal

JMCSS budgeted around $7.2 million on capital improvement projects at schools across the district in addition to 30 projects targeted at areas such as learning loss.

Read more:School projects, learning initiatives make up JMCSS’ $16 million-plus ESSER 2.0 proposal

Since first submitting the proposal, leadership has made adjustments.

The capital project costs were reduced to make up for more indirect costs, up to $1.4 million. JMCSS requested funding for the indirect costs of personnel having to oversee, manage and comply with increased federal grant funding and its requirements.  Those are cost savings if JMCSS currently has staff or software to implement programming. 

First grade teacher Terreca Bunch introduces a book to her students in the virtual class at Rose Hill Middle School in Jackson, Tenn., Thursday, Sept. 3, 2020. The first week of school, the JMCSS temporarily suspended in-class school due to the rising cases of COVID-19.

The staff bonuses of $1,500 for certified staff and $1,000 for noncertified staff will be dispersed sooner than planned. They’ll be distributed at the end of the school year rather than by Christmas break. The costs for bonuses increased from approximately $2.2 million to $3.4 million in the ESSER 2.0 proposal.

The increase offsets the costs of taxes so employees see the full bonus amount and gives the school system leeway rather than being constrained by an exact amount. 

The district added a position to the 2.0 funding proposal to oversee and comply with the ESSER funding as well as other grant funding.

The state department is supposed to ensure grant compliance, but board member A.J. Massey recently asked for oversight from the district level.

JMCSS added a family support specialist to work with families so they get mental support and social, behavioral health and/or truancy services.

“Families need the greatest support right now,” King said. “When we see stronger parental support and involvement, we’re going to see a shift in our academic landscape. In order to support our students, we have to understand the whole child, which involves the family.”

Read more: Parental involvement makes all the difference, Jackson principal, board member say

The family support specialist allows the school system to be more involved with families and sooner.

There was a mental health curriculum already listed in the project proposal. The project proposed repurposing positions in the school system to create a department with mental health support personnel.

The mental health support department can be created with grant funding, King said.

When JMCSS made its proposal for ESSER 2.0, it included $500,000 for transportation to summer camps, which were projected to be fully funded by the state.

State funding didn’t cover the total costs, so $2.7 million will be used for the camp.

Michael Clayton, a magician out of Memphis, Tennessee, performs for kids at the 2018 Parks and Recreation Summer Camp at Nova Elementary School in Jackson, Tenn., Thursday, July 12, 2018.

The districtwide summer learning camps are targeted at closing learning gaps for students entering first through eighth grades, according to JMCSS.

Read more:City of Jackson, Jackson-Madison County Schools to offer summer camps

The learning camps will have small class sizes, experienced teachers, intensive learning with a focus on math and reading, intervention, meals and snacks and free transportation.

The camps, divided between elementary and middle school grades, will happen Monday through Thursday each week for four weeks from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. for elementary and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. for middle school.

Elementary teachers will be paid $7,000 for the extra hour while middle school educators will be paid $6,000 for their time this summer. Nearly 300 teachers had signed up to teach in early April.

The extra hour in the lower grades will be a STREAM (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Arts and Math) mini camp.

Registration forms were sent to the JMCSS families with students entering grades first through eighth. Close to 3,000 students had submitted the forms as of late April. 

The registration deadline was extended to April 19.

The middle school camp will be considered a bridge camp to help them adjust to middle school, deputy superintendent Vivian Williams said.

“We want to serve at least 40% of our students,” Williams said. “We’re ready. We believe that we can address learning loss and unfinished learning, and we will focus on that unfinished learning that has occurred over the last year.”

Things not approved in 2.0 to be put in 3.0

Not all of the district’s proposed projects were approved in ESSER 2.0. Those not approved will be pushed to the 3.0 proposal, which is more than double the amount of money allocated in the 2.0 funding.

Math Teacher Judy Record goes through a lesson with her students despite the technical difficulties they had at Rose Hill Middle School in Jackson, Tenn., Thursday, Sept. 3, 2020. The first week of school, the JMCSS temporarily suspended in-class school due to the rising cases of COVID-19.

Projects planned for the third round of funding so far include:

  • Student laptops, estimated at more than $6.3 million
  • Insurance for devices, which doesn’t have an estimated cost yet
  • A Teacher’s Lounge Studio, a place for teachers to discuss and address learning loss, highlight what’s happening in JMCSS and host parental engagement activities
  • The One-room Schoolhouse Initiative, a mobile classroom taken into communities where students have limited access to afterschool programs
  • Learning Loss Competitive Grants for teachers and leaders will be available for teachers to apply for
  • Electronic Library through MyON and a system-wide bookstore, estimated to cost $36,000
  • Literacy Workstations at elementary schools, estimated at $160,000
  • Learning Loss Think Tank, a group of teachers who work together to create the best practices to address learning loss 
  • Interactive Boards for all teachers

Twenty percent, around $7.4 million of the $37 million, in the 3.0 funding must target learning loss.

King projects using around $3 million for indirect costs.  

Board retreat to discuss spending $37 million grant

The JMCSS budget committee met March 4, 2021 to discuss federal funding coming to the district as well as how to raise staff salaries with increased state funding and reduced expenses. Pictured, from l to r, are budget committee chairman A.J. Massey, board secretary Demetris Burrell, board chairman James "Pete" Johnson and superintendent Marlon King.

The board will have a retreat on May 1 to discuss how to spend the $37 million from ESSER 3.0.

The board will be able to elaborately discuss where and how to use funds and the feasibility of projects being completed by 2025, board chairman James “Pete” Johnson said.  

“We haven’t had an opportunity like this in a long time,” Johnson said. “We have an opportunity to help our students catch up even more and be more successful if we use more of those dollars for academics and student readiness.”

Lasherica Thornton is The Jackson Sun's education reporter. Reach her at 731-343-9133 or by email atlthornton@jacksonsun.com. Follow her on Twitter: @LashericaT.