A Thank You Sign Placed on the Fence of the East End Community School, North Street, Portland, Recently.

Maine schools will receive an additional $164 million in CARES Act Coronovaris Relief Funds (CRF) to support school systems as they continue to implement health and safety protocols to protect students, staff and their families and the COVID-19 pandemic.  These new funds build on the Mills Administration initial investment of $165 million earlier this year.

“School officials across Maine are working day and night to protect the health of their students, their staff and their communities while providing a high quality education.  They deserve our full and unwaivering support,” said Governor Mills in a press release issued yesterday.  “This funding helps ensure that our schools are as best equiped as they can be to meet the challenges they face now as well as any that may arise this fall.

Beginning next week, the funds will be distributed to School Administrative Units (SAUs) based on an equitable, weighted formula that the Maine Department of Education will first provide each SAU with its maximum allocation according to the formula.  SA’s will then complete an application describing how the funds will be spent in order to remain within the constraints Congress has placed on the use of CRF monies and attest to their compliance with the health and safety requirements once the applications are approved, SAU’s can begin submitting receipts for reimbursement of approved expenditures.

With this second investment, the Mills Administration has dedicated $329 million to support Maine students and teachers as school districts pursue in-person, hybrid, or remote learning options.