by Mary Stroka
Michigan’s still among 20 states that haven’t reported on a public dashboard what Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funding was used to purchase or provide, a recent report found.
However, the state is adding more details soon, a state official said Wednesday.
Harvard Kennedy School’s Program on Education Policy and Governance published the April 6 report, “The Massive ESSER Experiment: Here’s what we’re learning.”
“Anything states can do to promote transparency in their districts’ use of these funds – and whether those investments are working to help students – is encouraged,” Edunomics Lab Strategic Projects Lead Katie Silberstein, one of the report authors, told The Center Square in an email.
The U.S. Department of Education reported that – as of Feb. 28 – Michigan has spent 32.5% of the funding it received.
“For parents whose students are behind, they might ask the district what supports are available for them to tap into that to meet the needs of their students,” Silberstein said.
She said that in the 2024-2025 school year, when ESSER funds run out, the amount of state reserves may impact districts’ financial prospects. States with a larger share of reserves may be better able to support districts whose revenues will take a hit without ESSER.
Michigan Department of Education Office of Public and Governmental Affairs Director Martin Ackley told The Center Square that the Michigan Department of Education’s COVID-19 Reimbursement Dashboard has a searchable breakout of every school entity that has received funds and the department’s building a dashboard page that will include expenditure information by function code and allowable grant use area.
“The target for that release publicly is late May as development of such a dashboard takes time,” Ackley said.
Stakeholders can request detailed data at any time as it has been throughout the cycle of COVID grants, he said. The department has released data and information with individual function code and allowable grant use throughout the grants cycle. The information’s been featured in the department’s ongoing statewide technical assistance and presentations.
“It is important to note, too, that only the ESSER I (Cares Act) funding is complete from a performance period standpoint, with finalized data associated with how funds were actually spent coming in the months ahead,” Ackley said. “Any information prior to that, including the ongoing grant programs are based on budgeted items or expenditures that may or may not actually end up being finalized as spent when the grant period ends. The Michigan Department of Education is committed to releasing accurate data when that data are available and appropriate to share.”
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Mary Stroka is a contributor to The Center Square.
Photo “Teacher and Students in a School Classroom” by Yan Krukau.
