![]() ![]() 21, 2021, when FEMA’s policy did not permit reimbursing school districts for the cost of PPE and other COVID-19 mitigation efforts. They might have submitted requests for reimbursement for the costs of work performed between Sept. Schools may have submitted requests for reimbursement for ineligible expenses, like the cost of remote learning. My district applied for millions of dollars in reimbursements, but the agency has only approved a small fraction of that sum so far. Questions and answers on FEMA’s current reimbursement policy for schools: senators and state emergency managers in recent weeks have been ramping up pressure for FEMA to retroactively reimburse schools. FEMA has urged districts to rely mostly on $195 billion in direct aid to K-12 schools passed by Congress during the pandemic as part of three economic stimulus packages to pay for those costs.īut districts say every dollar matters, particularly with efforts to help students who have struggled during the pandemic. The pandemic has disrupted almost every corner of school operations, and some K-12 advocates have suggested districts will eventually spend close to $25 billion on COVID-19-related costs. Some school leaders also may not have realized they were eligible for FEMA reimbursement, or may not have the staff and resources to devote to filling out and tracking lengthy grant applications during an ongoing public health crisis. I would rather work with almost anyone else but FEMA.” “Their guidelines and rules are not clear their responsiveness is appalling and the timelines for reimbursement are excessive. “No federal agency is more difficult to work with than FEMA,” said Michael Casserly, executive director of the Council for the Great City Schools, whose 77 big-city members’ pandemic-related costs could climb to tens of millions of dollars or more. While the policy shift should help schools, district officials still have a pretty negative view of FEMA. ![]()
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