School Leaders Ask Lawmakers to Release Stimulus Funds

NBCUniversal, Inc.

There are billions of dollars sitting in a bank account in Austin that belongs to Texas schools.

School leaders can't get their hands on it though, even as their bank accounts are running low.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, school districts were also hit hard in the pocketbook. Many had to purchase at-home learning platforms for kids, which are not cheap.

Other costs for school districts included face shields and masks for the students who continued to attend class and that many students just stopped showing up altogether and took part in home school.

All of it costs districts money and it's starting to impact students.

"This moment is a turning point for our most vulnerable children and families the ones that rely on school as a means for survival," Lewisville ISD teacher Alexis Miller said.

The budget is part of the reason Lovejoy ISD had to shut down an elementary school and teachers in Fort Worth are having positions reduced as the district figures out what it can afford.

Even business owners are worried.

"Our businesses will lack the talent they need to thrive in this economy and our state will not thrive as we all know it should," President, North Texas Commission President Chris Wallace said.

Business and school leaders and teachers are asking residents to reach out to state lawmakers, who received $19 billion from the Biden administration for schools and haven't distributed it yet.

Gov. Greg Abbott's office said it needed more information before it gives schools that kind of money.

"I can't see what the problem is. Forty other states have already figured out how to get this funding to our school children," Denton ISD Superintendent Jamie Wilson said.

Contact Us