[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-587837-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-587837-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","wisconsin-school-districts-use-of-federal-pandemic-relief-funds","Wisconsin School Districts’ Use of Federal Pandemic Relief Funds","","Wisconsin school districts received more than $2 billion in one-time federal pandemic relief funds to mitigate COVID-19 harms and strengthen student recovery and district finances. Early spending emphasized educational technology for virtual learning adaptation, while later spending prioritized academic catch-up after prolonged closures. A DPI-based analysis maps how districts used federal aid across categories, supported by prior GEER and ESSER allocations and focused on preventing budget shortfalls as funds expired.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/wisconsin-school-districts-use-of-federal-pandemic-relief-funds/587837/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/wisconsin-school-districts-use-of-federal-pandemic-relief-funds/587837.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Melati","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-28","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",6,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"How much federal relief funding did Wisconsin districts receive for COVID-19 response and recovery?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"Wisconsin districts received more than $2 billion in one-time federal relief funds, including approximately $2.3 billion intended to mitigate COVID-19’s negative effects.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"What were the main priorities for early versus later spending?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"Early spending focused on educational technology to help students and schools adapt to virtual learning. Later spending concentrated on catching students up academically after pandemic setbacks and long-term closures.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"How did the report analyze how districts used the funds?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"Using data from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI), the report analyzed district spending claims across state-determined categories and also interviewed leaders from three districts to clarify decision-making.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},587837,1792190183,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,105,110,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":111,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":115,"language":139,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":143,"read_time":144,"preview_page_count":4},962085570644,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_994ba38a5ba835b3df7d355c54d3ed8d","Adding it All Up  \nWisconsin School Districts’ Use of Federal Pandemic Relief Funds  \nWisconsin school districts received more than $2 billion in one-time federal relief funds to address the effects of COVID-19 and boost student recovery and district finances. Early spending focused on educational technology to help students and schools adapt to virtual learning, while later spending focused on catching students up academically following setbacks from the pandemic and long-term school closures. Despite these efforts,  \nWisconsin’s students have yet to fully catch up.  \nWisconsin school districts received approximately  \n$2.3 billion in federal relief funds to mitigate the negative effects of COVID-19. The stakes surrounding the use of that money were substantial, both because of the cost to taxpayers and the level of need within schools. A federal assessment known as the Nation’s Report Card has shown that the pandemic harmed students in Wisconsin and nationwide, leading to substantially lower student scores in mathematics and reading.  \nThe pandemic and school closures presented unique challenges for districts and school leaders to address student recovery. National research shows that student results in mathematics and reading have not returned to pre-pandemic levels. In Wisconsin, average math achievement remains a third of a grade level below 2019 levels, and average reading achievement remains half a grade level below.  \nOne-time federal relief funds provided a key revenue stream that districts could use to address a range of priorities, including reversing test score declines that took place during and after the onset of the pandemic. In response, lawmakers froze their state-imposed revenue caps and districts navigated two consecutive years (2022 and 2023) without an increase to their per pupil funding.  \nUsing data from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI), we analyzed spending claims by districts to offer a statewide look at how they used federal relief aid to address goals such as responding to COVID-19 and then pursuing student recovery.  \nThis report was made possible by the family of Norman N. Gill, who served as the director of the Milwaukee-based Citizens Governmental Research Bureau (now the Wisconsin Policy Forum) for 39 years. The Gill family’s generous contribution has provided for the creation of the Norman N. Gill Civic Engagement Fellowship, under which the Forum annually hires a graduate student fellow to conduct research under the supervision of its staff.  \nThe 2024-2025 Norman N. Gill Fellow, Vilma Fermin, was the lead author of this report.  \nPrevious Forum research summarized the sources of federal education relief aid to districts in Wisconsin. Through successive federal laws, districts received $46.6 million in Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER I) funds, $158.5 million in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER I) funds,$685.4 million in ESSER II funds, and $1.43 billion in ESSER III funds.  \nESSER funds were distributed through the same formula used for federal Title I aid, which delivered greater aid to districts serving more students from lowincome households. GEER I funds were distributed to districts that were most impacted by COVID-19 based on the percentage of students in need of academic support and their ability to access learning.  \nThe average school district in Wisconsin received $2,841 per pupil across all ESSER and GEER I funds, and the median amount was $1,784 per pupil. The formula allocated the greatest portion of the statewide federal funds (34 .4%) to Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS), at $11,923 per pupil.  \nCongress allowed the funds to be used for a wide array of expenditures to give school districts flexibility in addressing local needs during the pandemic.  \nIn the final installment of ESSER funds provided by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), districts were required to use at least 20% of the aid to address the decline in student aca","cbCaiiRVlVIjDG4X","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiiRVlVIjDG4X","pdf",330705,"English","# Breaking Down Statewide Spending\n## Federal funding and distribution overview\n## Spending claims window and dataset update\n## Spending categories supporting recovery","[{\"question\":\"How much federal relief funding did Wisconsin districts receive for COVID-19 response and recovery?\",\"answer\":\"Wisconsin districts received more than $2 billion in one-time federal relief funds, including approximately $2.3 billion intended to mitigate COVID-19’s negative effects.\"},{\"question\":\"What were the main priorities for early versus later spending?\",\"answer\":\"Early spending focused on educational technology to help students and schools adapt to virtual learning. Later spending concentrated on catching students up academically after pandemic setbacks and long-term closures.\"},{\"question\":\"How did the report analyze how districts used the funds?\",\"answer\":\"Using data from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI), the report analyzed district spending claims across state-determined categories and also interviewed leaders from three districts to clarify decision-making.\"}]","Wisconsin School Districts’ Use of Federal Pandemic Relief Funds | PDF",1792063276,23]