Hays County Commissioners Court approves CARES funding for schools
Hays County Commissioners Court unanimously approved a funding agreement on Tuesday that will assist Independent School districts in Hays County with COVID-19 response and recovery efforts. The money will come from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) funding granted to Hays County earlier this year.
Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra said the unanimous approval by the court shows the importance of the funding.
“Our goal was to support our local school districts that are in need of relief from the expense of dealing with COVID-19,” he said. “I’m proud of our court members for seizing this chance to utilize the funding for something so important.”
Court members said they understand that public school districts are struggling during this global pandemic.
Commissioner Lon Shell, Pct. 3, said, “Hays County recognized this was a unique opportunity to assist these schools with their recovery efforts and I’m pleased we were able to come together and make this happen.”
Commissioners voted to allocate $500,000 to be divided among school districts based on student population. The four school districts, Hays Consolidated Independent, San Marcos Consolidated Independent, Wimberley Independent and Dripping Springs Independent, shared their COVID-19 response needs with county officials.
“The districts need more masks and other protective items, and of course none of this was budgeted,” said Commissioner Mark Jones, Pct. 2. “Being able to assist them as they bring more students and staff back to campuses is critical.”
The funding allocation, calculated based on student population, will be distributed as follows:
Hays CISD $266,356
San Marcos CISD $108,452
Dripping Springs ISD $91,794
Wimberley ISD $33,397
“This infusion of funding into local school districts will assist in making campuses safer,” Pct. 4 Commissioner Walt Smith said.
School districts will need to submit a written spending plan to ensure the funding agreement meets the federal reporting requirements under the CARES Act, which has defined parameters for how monies can be allocated.
“I’m pleased the court was able to offer this needed support to our local independent school districts,” said Pct. 1 Commissioner Debbie Ingalsbe said. “We know how important this funding will be to our schools and more importantly our students and teachers.”