Oklahoma school districts will receive up to $145 million in emergency funding from the federal CARES Act. The money will be doled out based on how many low income students attend each school.
The state’s two largest districts — Oklahoma City and Tulsa — are by far the largest recipients, receiving $17.3 million and $16.2 million respectively. Putnam City Schools sit at number three and could get $4.5 million.
The law lays out about a dozen different ways to spend the money. It is ultimately supposed to go to abating problems created by COVID-19 and districts must demonstrate how they will spend the money to receive it.
Oklahoma’s State Department of Education will also offer additional funds to districts that spend their allocation on things like expanding connectivity for students, training for elementary teachers in the science of reading and providing mental health support.
"COVID-19 has pulled the curtain back on the digital divide," State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister said in a statement. "With an increasing number of schools moving to blended learning environments, the time is now to close this divide so that every student can be positioned for success regardless of whether school takes place inside a building or beyond the schoolhouse walls through digital delivery of content and instruction."
