NY schools have spent only about 20% of billions received in federal COVID aid. Advocates want them to pick up the pace.

Public schools statewide have spent only about 20% of federal COVID-19 relief money provided over the past 2 1/2 years to address student learning loss and other issues, according to state and private reports.

On Long Island, a Newsday spot check of districts found a similar pattern.

Federal assistance is due to wind down in 2024, and experts said that makes the situation more urgent.

Since 2020, federal authorities have earmarked $14 billion in relief for schools throughout the state, including more than $520 million in Nassau and Suffolk counties. A substantial amount has been used to pay for student tutoring, psychological counseling and upgrades of air filtration systems, state and local records show.

Advocates for students noted that much work remains to be done nonetheless.

A tracking system run by the State Comptroller's Office found that $2.9 billion, or 21% of federal aid available statewide, had been spent as of Oct. 31. A separate review, conducted by the Education Trust-New York, a nonprofit advocacy group, arrived at a similar conclusion. The trust calculated that $2.71 billion of total aid, or 19%, had been spent as of Aug. 31.

Trust leaders and their allies have issued a report calling on state and local school officials to step up the pace of spending. The report noted that less than half of students statewide in grades 3-8 scored as proficient on state math tests in the spring; the same was true on the Island.

"These are challenging times for students, teachers and families," said Jeff Smink, deputy director of the Manhattan-based trust. "New York was hit especially hard by the pandemic, which makes swift and urgent investment of these relief dollars particularly crucial to creating an equitable future." 

The 17-page report was issued on behalf of the New York Equity Coalition, representing both the trust and more than two dozen other organizations across the state.

In Albany, state education officials noted they had developed specific plans for using federal money to help schools make up for instructional time lost to COVID. Long Island school leaders said a strong push was underway to do this, despite some inevitable delays. 

"When we talk to school districts, they're using the money, there's no hesitancy whatsoever," said Ryan Ruf, chief operating officer of the regional Eastern Suffolk BOCES. "The only delay that we're hearing about is disruptions in the market related to supply-chain issues. Or if there is construction, all construction is delayed just now due to the backlog." 

Some local school administrators said they had to be careful in budgeting, to make sure that local taxes would not go up when federal assistance runs out. 

The local picture

To get a better sense of the local situation, Newsday looked at Education Trust data for five school systems on the Island: Brentwood, Central Islip, Hempstead, Sachem and Uniondale.

According to the trust's figures, the five districts received a combined total of $138.9 million in federal relief money, and spent $31.4 million as of Aug. 31. That works out to an average spending rate of 22.6%, close to the statewide average. Spending amounts varied widely for individual districts.

Richard Loeschner, Brentwood's superintendent, said the district as of two weeks ago  had spent $11.3 million, or 20.3%, of its federal assistance. In addition, he said, a number of projects await state approval, including more than $16 million in heating, ventilation and air conditioning. 

Federal money had helped pay for a variety of local programs, including extended school days and Saturday sessions for students needing extra help, as well as for hiring additional psychologists, counselors and social workers.

Loeschner added that his system had received substantial state aid increases in recent years, as well as federal money. For this reason, he said, the district is making extra efforts to keep spending within reasonable, manageable limits. Brentwood is the Island's largest district, with about 18,500 students. 

"The Brentwood school district and the Brentwood community are always grateful for the additional money that both the federal government and the state government have sent us, and we do want to be circumspect and prudent about how we spend this money," Loeschner said. 

Districts move cautiously

Long Island as a region has received more than $870 million in additional state aid this year and last, on top of federal assistance. Much of the state money is meant to help low-wealth districts catch up with more affluent neighbors. 

As a result, financial experts said, a relatively small number of local districts that were previously short of money have experienced financial windfalls. Some of these districts have acted with particular caution in spending federal dollars, and this may have skewed the data showing low usage rates, those experts added.

"They couldn't have been financially responsible and spent that money in a short amount of time," said Beth Rella, assistant superintendent for business in the Middle Country district.

Rella said the financial situation is different in her own district and that state foundation aid has decreased there. The district has gradually spent down its $21.9 million in federal assistance and expects to use the last of it in 2024, she said. 

Spending priorities in Middle Country have included hiring additional custodians as a health-safety measure, and hiring additional teachers to lower class sizes, Rella said.

In Uniondale, officials said their district had spent or encumbered $11.4 million of its federal money so far and expected to spend all relief aid by 2024. Purchases have included Apple iPads and Chromebooks for students, along with electronic whiteboards for all classrooms.

Mary Martinez-Lagnado, the district's interim assistant superintendent for business affairs, said Uniondale had been "working diligently" to spend federal dollars appropriately.

Sachem school officials said they had so far spent $10.7 million of their $22.2 million in federal relief, or slightly under 50%. An additional $6.8 million has been allocated, officials added. Purchases have included nearly 12,000 Chromebooks for students, along with a private testing system and digital reading program.

Superintendent Christopher Pellettieri praised federal authorities for their provision of funds. 

"They have been a godsend," he said.

By John Hildebrand

john.hildebrand@newsday.com@johnhnewsday

John Hildebrand is Newsday's senior education writer and has covered school news and policy issues affecting Long Island for more than 40 years.