American Rescue Plan Estimated to Bring $270 Million to NEPA to Help Bring More Kids Back Safely Into Classrooms, Cartwright Says

Press Release

U.S. Representative Matt Cartwright (PA-08) today announced that the American Rescue Plan passed by Congress and signed by President Biden yesterday would make an estimated $270 million available to school districts in the counties that comprise the Eighth Congressional District to help safely reopen K-12 schools for in-person learning. The funds will be delivered to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, which will make the final determination of amounts the schools will receive.

"This pandemic has disrupted Northeastern Pennsylvania students' learning for too long. I pushed hard to include the school districts in the American Rescue Plan because they need the money. And homeowners are already stretched as far as they can go. Some of our local districts have been able to reopen, but it isn't easy, and it isn't cheap," Rep. Cartwright said. "That's why a core pillar of the American Rescue Plan is to provide the resources necessary to help more schools reopen safely, keep them open safely and make up for time lost out of the classroom."

Education Support Funding for Schools in PA-08 Counties

LEA Code

LEA Name

Estimated Grant

4202010

Abington Heights School District

$2,469,000

4203480

Berwick Area School District

$6,851,000

4204980

Carbondale Area School District

$6,541,000

4200824

Central Valley School District

$2,537,000

4205460

Crestwood School District

$3,056,000

4207200

Dallas School District

$3,487,000

4207530

Delaware Valley School District

$4,937,000

4207980

Dunmore School District

$3,087,000

4208670

East Stroudsburg Area School District

$13,849,000

4209930

Forest City Regional School District

$1,590,000

4216290

Greater Nanticoke Area School District

$7,177,000

4211420

Hanover Area School District

$7,485,000

4211700

Hazleton Area School District

$37,064,000

4212990

Lackawanna Trail School District

$1,758,000

4213050

Lakeland School District

$1,851,000

4213020

Lake-Lehman School District

$2,273,000

4215170

Mid Valley School District

$3,952,000

4217310

North Pocono School District

$2,988,000

4217790

Northwest Area School District

$1,855,000

4218120

Old Forge School District

$2,019,000

4219200

Pittston Area School District

$7,052,000

4219290

Pleasant Valley School District

$6,289,000

4219500

Pocono Mountain School District

$20,656,000

4223250

Riverside School District

$3,891,000

4221090

Scranton School District

$38,239,000

4222860

Stroudsburg Area School District

$7,125,000

4222980

Susquehanna Community School District

$2,098,000

4224650

Valley View School District

$3,056,000

4224750

Wallenpaupack Area School District

$4,889,000

4224970

Wayne Highlands School District

$6,297,000

4226300

Wilkes-Barre Area School District

$32,707,000

4226730

Wyoming Area School District

$5,254,000

4225950

Wyoming Valley West School District

$16,173,000

Totals

$270,552,000

Source: Estimates calculated by the Congressional Research Service (CRS), accessed March 11, 2021. Per CRS, in addition to other limitations, data needed to calculate final grants may not yet be available as final awards are determined by states.

The American Rescue Plan will provide nearly $130 billion for state education departments across the U.S. to distribute to school districts for immediate and long-term relief so they can work with public health experts to safely re-open schools and make up for lost time in the classroom. This includes:

Repairing ventilation systems, reducing class sizes and implementing social distancing guidelines, purchasing personal protective equipment, and hiring support staff to care for students' health and well-being.
Ensures 20 percent of the funding that schools receive must be reserved to address and remediate learning loss among students.
The American Rescue Plan requires states to award K-12 funds to local school districts no later than 60 days after receipt and school districts to develop plans that ensure schools return to in-person learning.

In total, the Pennsylvania Department of Education is slated to receive a total of about $5 billion to distribute to the Commonwealth's school districts. Additionally, Pennsylvania is estimated to receive $34.7 million to support Head Start programs, which will be used to maintain access to services for children and families; and about $1.19 billion to help child care providers keep their doors open and reduce costs for struggling families.

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