Chippewa Valley School Districts will need to contend with the loss of emergency relief funding it received during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Funding through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief program is set to expire at the end of September. The funds were authorized under the CARES Act and American Rescue Plan Act, and have provided critical funding for school districts across the state in recent years.
According to a WQOW report, the Eau Claire Area School District used $12 million from the latest round of funding through the program for school psychologists, social workers, counselors, and academic coaches. The Chippewa Falls Area Unified School District used $5 million to continue funding its existing programs.
When that funding expires, school districts across the Chippewa Valley will once again be forced to turn to their communities with ballot referendum questions. Voters in the Chippewa Falls Area Unified School District already passed a three year, $2.5 million referendum to fill their budget gap going forward. The Eau Claire Area School District is proposing an $18 million referendum to address their budget issues.
School districts across the state have struggled with the expiration of Covid-era funding, citing the loss of that funding, rising inflation, and declining enrollment as the root causes of their budget concerns. In April’s election, there were a total of 93 school referendum questions asked on ballots across the state. 57 of those questions were approved by voters, and districts that were unable to get their referendums approved were often forced to make program cuts and layoffs.
Pike Lake Annual Fun Day
9/6/2024 | Austin Brumet
The Pike Lake Volunteer Fire Department hosted their annual Fun Day, bringing in crowds of attendees in support of the department.
Lugerville Church Set to Close
9/6/2024 | Austin Brumet
Park Falls, Wis. (WCQM/WPFP) – Our Savior’s Episcopal Church in Lugerville, will be closing. They were the first established church in Lugerville when they were first founded in 1938 and moved locations several times until 1949 when the church acquired the former South Fork School. The building was then moved ten miles to Lugerville, where […]
Governor Tim Walz Discusses Rural America and the 2024 Election on The Chad Holmes Show
9/6/2024 | Teri Barr
The Democratic Vice Presidential Nominee talks about his rural roots, bipartisanship, and what he orders at Culver’s on WXCO Radio.
Wisconsin’s long-term care crisis: Staffing troubles, low Medicaid rates prompt closures
9/6/2024 | Addie Costello / Wisconsin Watch and WPR
Low state reimbursement rates through Medicaid have depressed provider revenue and worker pay at assisted living facilities.
Madison Police Chief Calls for Police Officers to Return to MMSD Schools
9/6/2024 | Savanna Tomei-Olson
MADISON, Wis. – Madison’s police chief has called for resource officers to return to the city’s schools. On Wednesday, a 14-year-old boy shot and killed four people at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia. Nine more were hurt. School resource officers were able to find the shooter within minutes, and he surrendered. Madison Police Chief […]
