Federal stimulus money to flow into Texas school districts this summer

More than $1.2 billion in federal stimulus funds will start flowing into Texas school districts this summer to keep schools fully funding following the COVID-19 pandemic closures, the Texas Education Commission said last week.

Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath joined other state school officials in a call on May 21 following a state-level decision to distribute about 90% of federal stimulus funds directly to school districts, according to the Texas Tribune. School districts can expect to receive their share of the funds based on student poverty rates, with an eye toward heading off layoff and cuts to school budgets, Morath and the other officials said during the widely covered call.

"With school closed to in-person attendance for nearly a third of the school year, generating the remainder of that entitlement would be impossible without us stepping in and making some changes," Morath said during the call.

Texas, like other states, is permitted to use the federal stimulus funds to head off budget shortfalls, Morath said during the conference call. 

"Federal guidance explicitly authorizes it as a way for states to sustain their school finance system, as long as net state funding remains above prior years," Morath said during the conference. 

Morath described the economic damage wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic as "substantial" and cautioned school officials to wisely spend the federal stimulus funds they receive, the Texas Tribune reported.

"We just don't know what will happen in future years," he said during the call. "I just think it's wise that we don't take actions now that make future actions more painful."

The Texas Education Agency also released a 20-page CARES Act Funding and COVID Expense Reimbursement FAQ. The FAQ proves general guidance, information about federal elementary and secondary school emergency relief fund (ESSERF) grants, the coronavirus relief fund and required documentation.

The agency also posted an alphabetical list of school districts in the state and how much in federal funds those districts can expect to receive.  Houston Independent School District, which has the most students in the state, can expect to receive the most, which is more than $81.7 million. Tiny Valentine Independent School District in Jeff Davis County, which has one school serving students pre-Kindergarten through twelfth grade, will receive the least share of the federal stimulus funding, which is $2,022, according to the list.