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Billions in Aid Given to US Schools with Few Requirements

时间:2021-09-08 02:35:43

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The United States federal1 government is giving a record amount of pandemic aid to the nation's schools.

President Joe Biden's administration2 is hoping schools use the money to improve deep problems within the nation's school system. But many districts say they have more immediate3 problems to solve first.

Detroit, Michigan, is a poor city with a long-struggling school system. The city is using the federal money to fix buildings with structural4 problems. The district is also using some of the government money to hire more teachers, have smaller classes and provide more mental health services. But at least half of the $1.3 billion in federal aid is being used to repair school buildings.

Nikolai Vitti leads Detroit Public Schools. He said, "For decades, we have been inequitably funded to deal with the enormous5 needs that poverty and racial injustice6 have created in our city." With the pandemic money, he said, the district will finally be able to work toward7 fixing the problem.

The Biden administration has pushed schools to make large changes with the money. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona has called it a time for big ideas. He said districts could use the money to lessen8 inequality.

But many large city districts are putting the pandemic money towards short-term9 needs. Schools have used the aid to hire medical workers, put more books in libraries and bring back art classes.

So far, there is little evidence of major change, said Marguerite Roza. She is a school finance10 expert with Georgetown University. Part of the problem, she said, is that the aid was given to schools with few requirements about how to spend it.

The money was given as "blank checks to every one of these districts," Roza said. "And many are going to do what they already know how to do."

The pandemic aid is bigger than anything American schools have seen before. It totals $190 billion. That is more than four times the amount the Education Department spends on schools in a usual year.

Congress11 has sent the funding to schools in three rounds since the start of the pandemic. The last and largest round totals $123 billion.

But the government is doing little to study how schools are using the money. Some states are required to release12 spending plans to the federal government, but many are not. Some Republicans13 in Congress have pushed for a new law that would give the public more information about how districts are using the money.

Reporters with The Associated Press looked at how much money was given to almost every district in the country. They tracked more than $155 billion sent to states since last year.

The median aid given to districts was nearly $2,800 per student. But that amount differs widely by district and state, the AP reports. The median funding per student in Louisiana and Washington, D.C. was about $6,000 per student. In Utah it was $1,300.

Poorer districts received much more money. Detroit received the most among big city districts, at more than $25,000 per student. It was followed by Philadelphia, with $13,000 per student, and Cleveland, at more than $12,000.

Schools have three years to spend the latest round of funding. But districts say that is a very short amount of time to use such a large amount of money. Some school officials do not want to spend money on things they cannot pay for after the federal aid is gone.

In St. Paul, Minnesota, the public school system is getting $321 million in total funding. District leader Joe Gothard says the short amount of time to spend the money limits how he can use it. The district has hired some new teachers, but it is mostly using the money for things like building repairs and replacing library books.

Districts across the U.S. have spent the summer debating how to spend the new money. They have faced pressure from groups of parents and others.

Some families want more money to go to special education. Others want more teacher training that examines racism14. At the same time, districts are facing pressure to increase teacher pay.

Sacramento, California's school district is receiving $300 million in pandemic aid. The district's teachers union has called for smaller class sizes -- which would mean more teachers -- as well as pay increases. The union is not asking that the funding should come from the federal aid. But the union is making the argument that the existence of the extra funding means the district can offer pay raises.

The American Federation15 of Teachers says the federal aid should center on improving school buildings and classroom support. But President Randi Weingarten also said pay raises are needed to keep teachers from quitting after a difficult year.

Another area of concern for schools is state funding. There is worry that the federal money will give states reason to cut future education budgets.

In Detroit, Vitti sees a chance to ask for more state funding. He hopes to show that the federal aid had improved things for students and increased graduation rates.

"We're looking forward to show clear outcomes17 from this investment," he said. He wants to prove to state lawmakers that similar funding "should be continued in an equitable18 way."

Words in This Story

district — n. an area established by a government for official government business

enormous — adj. very great in size or amount

hire — v. to give work or a job to (someone) in exchange for wages or a salary

equitable — adj. just or fair : dealing19 fairly and equally with everyone

blank — n. without any writing, marks, or pictures

graduation — n. the act of receiving a diploma or degree from a school, college, or university : the act of graduating

outcome16 — n. something that happens as a result of an activity or process

replace — v. to be used instead of (something)

track — v. to follow and find (someone or something) especially by looking at evidence

library — n. a place where books, magazines, and other materials (such as videos and musical recordings) are available for people to use or borrow


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1 federal RkSxm     
adj.联盟的;联邦的;(美国)联邦政府的
参考例句:
  • Switzerland is a federal republic.瑞士是一个联邦共和国。
  • The schools are screaming for federal aid.那些学校强烈要求联邦政府的援助。
2 administration mJLyZ     
n.经营,管理;行政,行政机关,管理部门
参考例句:
  • Who is in charge of the administration of your company?你们公司的行政工作由谁负责?
  • The teachers are responsible to the school administration.教师向学校行政负责。
3 immediate aapxh     
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的
参考例句:
  • His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
  • We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。
4 structural itXw5     
adj.构造的,组织的,建筑(用)的
参考例句:
  • The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
  • The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。
5 enormous xoExz     
adj.巨大的;庞大的
参考例句:
  • An enormous sum of money is injected each year into teaching.每年都有大量资金投入到教学中。
  • They wield enormous political power.他们行使巨大的政治权力。
6 injustice O45yL     
n.非正义,不公正,不公平,侵犯(别人的)权利
参考例句:
  • They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
  • All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。
7 toward on6we     
prep.对于,关于,接近,将近,向,朝
参考例句:
  • Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
  • Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了,并跑了过去。
8 lessen 01gx4     
vt.减少,减轻;缩小
参考例句:
  • Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
  • They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。
9 short-term FiwzbV     
adj.短期的
参考例句:
  • The short-term training class has been run three times.短训班办了三期。
  • For this they are running short-term courses and evening classes.为此,他们办了短训班和夜校。
10 finance cktxR     
n.财务管理,财政,金融,财源,资金
参考例句:
  • She is an expert in finance.她是一名财政专家。
  • A finance house made a bid to buy up the entire company.一家信贷公司出价买下了整个公司。
11 Congress eY1y1     
n.(代表)大会;(C-:美国等国的)国会,议会
参考例句:
  • There were some days to wait before the Congress.大会的召开还有几天时间。
  • After 18 years in Congress,he intented to return to private life.在国会供职18年后,他打算告老还乡。
12 release iVhxh     
vt.发布,发表,发行;释放,放开
参考例句:
  • After my examination I had a feeling of release.考完试后我有如释重负之感。
  • This medicine will give you release from pain.这药吃后会解除你的疼痛。
13 republicans 060358f4c6087ad76e0fb6fca649bd02     
拥护共和政体者,共和主义者( republican的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The Republicans got shellacked in the elections. 共和党在选举中一败涂地。
  • The latest poll gives the Republicans a 5% lead. 最近的民意调查结果表明共和党领先了五个百分点。
14 racism pSIxZ     
n.民族主义;种族歧视(意识)
参考例句:
  • He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
  • Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。
15 federation htCzMS     
n.同盟,联邦,联合,联盟,联合会
参考例句:
  • It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
  • Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。
16 outcome 60ryR     
n.结果,出口,演变
参考例句:
  • The outcome of the experiment is in the lap of the gods.实验结果尚难预料。
  • The outcome of the war is hard to foretell.战争胜负难以预卜。
17 outcomes ada150cea270ef5267b5ef2ff2366846     
结果( outcome的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The two scenarios provide illustrations of consistent set of outcomes for range of possible policies. 这两个方案说明某一套可能采取的政策将会产生的一系列后果。
  • We analyzed all the possible outcomes of your mission, Commander. 我们分析过所有可能的结果,指挥官。
18 equitable JobxJ     
adj.公平的;公正的
参考例句:
  • This is an equitable solution to the dispute. 这是对该项争议的公正解决。
  • Paying a person what he has earned is equitable. 酬其应得,乃公平之事。
19 dealing NvjzWP     
n.经商方法,待人态度
参考例句:
  • This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
  • His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

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