The United States Congress passed the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER III) in March 2021.  This relief fund was part of a $122 billion fund to help school districts impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.  Indiana was awarded 1.9 billion of these fund.  These funds were then appropriated to school corporations based on a per-pupil formula.  The ESSER III grant has been approved for Rush County Schools with an approved amount of $2,947,311.83.  Per ESSER III guidelines 20% of the approved amount must go towards addressing learning loss.  These funds are to be encumbered by September 30, 2024.

School corporations offered public comments on their re-opening plan as part of the ESSER III regulations.  The Rush County Schools’ re-opening plan was presented at the Board of School Trustees meeting on Tuesday, July 13, 2021 and public comments were solicited.

The Rush County Schools ESSER III plan includes the following items:

Learning Loss:

• A Learning Loss/Grant Coordinator to align student needs in the corporation and financial support for our school programs

• Instructional Assistants to help meet the individual needs of students

• Opportunity School Teacher to assist students with graduation requirements

• Software to help teachers differentiate instruction

Administrative Expenses:

• Extra PPE and cleaning supplies needed due to Covid-19

• New air handlers at RCHS to improve air flow

• New windows for RCHS Laughlin Center and Rushville Memorial Gym to improve air flow

• Repair structural damage from the old windows