How Stockton Unified School District is spending $242 million in COVID-19 relief funds

Stockton Unified School District has spent most of the $242 million in COVID-19 relief money it's received from the federal government since March 2020.

During a study session this week, Interim Chief Business Official Joann Juarez led a presentation on how Stockton's largest school district has spent hundreds of millions of dollars in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds until now.

The money was distributed to help schools address the impacts of the pandemic. In 2020 and 2021, more than $190 billion in ESSER funds were doled out in three rounds to school districts and schools nationwide.

Stockton Unified received $15 million in March 2020 from ESSER I, $70 million in December 2020 from ESSER II and $156.7 million in March 2021 from ESSER III.

Stockton Unified was required to spend the money on students' academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs, Juarez said. The third and final round mandated that 80% of the money be spent on "strategies for continuous and safe in-person learning" and 20% on "addressing the impact of lost instructional time."

Additionally, stakeholder engagement and a school board-approved plan were needed to spend the money.

Where ESSER money went

The first two rounds of ESSER funds have already been fully exhausted. Nearly $85 million was spent on enrichment learning, cleaning supplies, personal protective equipment, student nutrition, instructional materials and technology, paid sick leave, and staffing.

Stockton Unified received flack from the San Joaquin County Civil Grand Jury and the San Joaquin County Office of Education (SJCOE), which cautioned the district against bankrolling vital staff positions with one-time grant money.

To correct the error, the board of trustees voted to approve layoffs for some classified and certificated employees, adding up to the time equivalent of 19 full-time positions, in March. Five director-level positions were cut for the family resource center, maintenance and operations, educational services, community relations and business development, and technology. The assistant superintendent of student support services position was also eliminated.

Last month, Susana Ramirez, Stockton Unified’s Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services, told trustees there are still 148 positions — totaled at $15.5 million — funded with one-time grant money. Those jobs impact eight of the nine unions in the district.

“We are responsible for those 148 positions until the end of the upcoming school year,” Ramirez said. “At that time, the board will need to decide what will happen with those positions or how they will be funded.”

Juarez proposed moving the positions — including campus safety assistants, campus safety monitors, food service assistants, and maintenance custodians — to the district's general fund in the 2024-2025 school year once the grant money expires.

"Dr. Rodriguez and myself are committed to maintaining those positions," Juarez said.

Stockton Unified was also heavily scrutinized by government watchdog groups for spending $6.6 million in ESSER funds on disinfectant air filter technology. The August 2021 contract with IAQ, a subsidiary of Alliance Building Solutions, Inc., was deemed an unallowable expenditure by the California Department of Education.

School districts must pay back federal funds that are used on unallowable expenditures.

However, Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez recently met with Department of Education officials, who gave Stockton Unified the OK to move the IAQ contract from COVID-19 relief funding to the district's general fund. Rodriguez said the expenditure switch prevented the district from losing out on more than $12 million — the initial $6 million that went toward the contract and the $6 million that would have been used to return the money.

"Business Services is working with SJCOE to identify expenditures that are allowed from the general fund, and we will be moving it to ESSER so we're allowed to capture back those funds," Juarez said.

Plans for remaining funds

Stockton Unified still has $32 million in COVID-19 relief funds that must be spent by September 30, 2024, or returned to the federal government. The remaining funds will be allocated to various projects and school sites across the district, according to Tiffany Ashworth, SUSD's administrator of state and federal programs.

"The district and project contacts are working with the school sites to ensure the needs are being met," Ashworth said.

Projects being funded by ESSER III include a revamp of student athletic programs at Stockton Unified’s four comprehensive high schools — Chavez, Edison, Franklin, and Stagg. About $2 million will be spent on sports training equipment and vans for transporting student-athletes to and from games.

Stockton Unified also plans to dish out $1 million of ESSER III funds to performing arts programs at multiple school sites. The money will be used for renovations to performing arts centers and safety upgrades.

Other planned big-ticket expenditures must be approved by the school board and the Department of Education before being funded by ESSER money.

"We are required to obtain CDE's approval before we expend those funds, so we will be forwarding over that request to the superintendent for review and signature and submission to the state," Ashworth said.

Record reporter Hannah Workman covers news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at hworkman@recordnet.com or on Twitter @byhannahworkman. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.

This article originally appeared on The Record: How Stockton Unified is spending $242 million in COVID-19 relief funds