Congress included the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund in the CARES Act, and North Carolina’s share was $95.6 million. Gov. Cooper just announced how he’s spending the money, and much of the K-12 spending will be used to hire additional staff.
- $40 million to the State Board of Education and the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to hire more school nurses, counselors, social workers, and psychologists in our public schools.
- $20 million to the State Board of Education and DPI to support the academic needs of at-risk students and students with disabilities through additional in-school supports, such as after-school programming, tutoring, or hiring more teachers or teacher assistants.
- $15 million to the NC Community College System to provide tuition assistance to students enrolled in short-term workforce training programs leading to a state or industry-recognized credential in a high-demand field.
- $6 million to the UNC System for institutions to provide emergency assistance to North Carolina students whose ability to complete their degree has been impacted by the pandemic.
- $4 million to the State Education Assistance Authority for independent colleges and universities to provide emergency assistance to North Carolina students whose ability to complete their degree has been impacted by the pandemic.
- $566,000 to the UNC System for the NC School of Science and Mathematics and the UNC School of the Arts, each of which received limited to no federal higher education funding from the CARES Act because of the size of their high school student populations
Cooper is holding $10 million in reserve “to address additional K-12 and postsecondary needs that may arise later this year or next year.”
