American Rescue Plan funds
The City School District of Albany is in the third and final year of American Resuce Plan (ARP) funding, a three-year federal COVID-19 relief grant.
Families, employees and community members were invited to provide your input on how these funds should be used each year by completing a survey.
Those survey results, along with ARP budgeting documents and additional information are available below.
The American Rescue Plan (ARP) is a sweeping funding package enacted in 2021 to help the country recover from the widespread effects of COVID-19 – including effects on school districts.
The City School District of Albany will receive a total of $46.7 million in one-time federal funds through September 2024 to support operations during, and recovery from, the pandemic. ARP funding will account for approximately $32.7 million of our school district’s one-time federal funds. Our ARP investments continue to be vital as we build back from the pandemic while also remaining aware of and responsive to health and safety concerns that persist.
Federal ARP guidelines require school districts to use this one-time funding, over three years, to measure and address the academic impact of lost instructional time on all students through the implementation of evidence-based interventions. These include, but are not limited to, interventions implemented through summer learning or summer enrichment, extended day, comprehensive after-school programs or extended school year programs.
Federal guidelines also require school districts to ensure that such interventions respond to students’ academic, social-emotional and mental health needs, and address the impact of COVID-19 on groups of students that the pandemic has disproportionately affected.
The tables below summarize the top four categories identified in on our annual ARP community surveys. The second column indicates the percentage of respondents who identified the corresponding category as "high priority."
2023-24 (518 responses)
| Category | High priority % |
|---|---|
| Safety and security | 73% |
| Social-emotional/mental health supports | 72% |
| HVAC (ventilation/air filtration) | 59% |
| Facility repairs | 52% |
2022-23 (304 responses)
| Category | High priority % |
|---|---|
| Safety and security | 80% |
| Social-emotional/mental health supports | 72% |
| HVAC (ventilation/air filtration) | 68% |
| Educational technology | 46% |
2021-22 (540 responses)
| Category | High priority % |
|---|---|
|
Social-emotional/mental health supports |
76% |
|
Educational technology |
70% |
| HVAC (ventilation/air filtration) | 68% |
| Safety and security | 68% |
