Gulf Shore City Schools making plans for COVID Relief funds

By Melanie LeCroy
Posted 4/7/21

Gulf Shores City School are making plans for the Congressional COVID Relief and American Rescue dollars meant to stabilize education budgets.

The CARES Act that was signed into law in March 2020 …

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Gulf Shore City Schools making plans for COVID Relief funds

Posted

Gulf Shores City School are making plans for the Congressional COVID Relief and American Rescue dollars meant to stabilize education budgets.

The CARES Act that was signed into law in March 2020 was the first round of federal funds distributed.  Gulf Shores City Schools spent that money like most school systems by purchasing masks, cleaning supplies and readying schools for students in a pandemic.

Dr. Matt Akin, Gulf Shores City Schools superintendent said the school system will receive $1.1 million from the COVID Relief Package signed into law December 2020 by the Trump Administration. The money will be used on three categories: air quality in the school buildings, remediation and virtual school. The plans are informal at this point but Akin said they know what the uses are.

Starting this summer, HVAC systems will be upgraded with advanced filtering. The project will start with the high school and then move on to the middle and elementary buildings.

The next focus is remediation for students who are behind. Some of the $1.1 million will be used to purchase additional materials, software and teachers for this summer and next school year.

Gulf Shores Virtual Academy registration opens this week and Akin expects there will be a need for more virtual academy teacher units. Currently there are 200 students enrolled.

“We expect to see an increase in virtual school students but not nearly as many as we had at the start of this school year. We expect to spend some money on virtual teacher units and software,” Akin said.

Gulf Shores City Schools will also receive funds from the American Rescue Plan that was signed into law March 2021 but Akin said he does not have a confirmation on the amount He said he anticipates close to $2 million. Some of the money will need to be used for the air quality upgrades but beyond that plans have not been finalized.