CARES ACT: $30.5 BILLION IN EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF – Learn how you can stretch your CARES Act Dollars

How Schools Can Make The Most Of Their Surprisingly Small Share

$30.5 Billion dollars sounds like a lot, but what it really boils down to is only about $286 per student. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, that was passed in March, will provide an unprecedented injection of financial support for educational institutions and programs to help relieve some of the economic impacts of COVID-19. PlanITROI has worked with school districts from around the country on putting money back into their IT budgets. 

The Cares Act is a good first step

The federal government has recognized that public education funding will suffer during and after the pandemic and that school budgets will be cut. While it is helpful, it is not nearly enough. To put it another way, experts have calculated this additional federal education funding is equivalent to only $286 per pupil, not nearly enough to cover what is needed and schools will need to look for ways to stretch their budgets even further than they already are.

Where is the CARES ACT money going?

$13.5 Billion for K-12 Schools. This amount will be distributed to states which will then pass it along to school districts. Each state’s allocation will be based on its share of funding under Title I, the federal government’s primary funding program for high-poverty schools. The requirements for how the funds are to be spent do not specify how much can be used for devices, curriculum, or connectivity. The idea is that districts can allocate these funds to provide maximum equity for their students—which will look different for every district.

$14 Billion for Higher Education Emergency Relief. This amount is to provide funding for institutions of higher education to cover costs associated with closures and the significant changes to the delivery of instruction and also provides emergency grants to students for expenses directly related to COVID-19 and the disruption of campus operations.

$3 Billion for the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief fund to provide funding to be allocated to states based on the needs of K-12 and higher education institutions that have been affected by COVID-19. Online professional development tutorials and webinars about teaching remotely, using digital content, and adapting content for ELL and Special Ed.

Meanwhile, experts have been asking educators what they need the most to succeed NOW and have compiled a list that includes:

• Help to deliver distance learning in rural and low-income areas that lack WIFI connectivity, and 1:1 devices.
• Providing a safe and healthy learning environment with sanitizing, disinfecting, and cleaning products.

How can you make your CARES Act dollars go the farthest?

In order to provide what schools, students, and teachers need to succeed; school IT professionals, administrators, and purchasing professionals will need to become creative at stretching budgets to meet these growing demands. That’s where an ITAD company like PlanITROI can help.

The following are just a few of the ways you can make your budget go further and get working devices into the hands of more of your students.

1. Get paid for your retired devices with an outright purchase of your retired devices or, receive a revenue share based on the age and market demand of your equipment. That’s right, we actually pay schools and other institutions for their idle devices, allowing them to purchase new and allowing us to keep the devices out of landfills and get them into the hands of families in need.
2. Trade-In any retired device(s) and Trade-Up to new devices and services, helping your school expand its’ purchasing power through your existing technology partner. We’ll pick up your devices, refurbish them, and sell them on the most popular online retailers to families in need of affordable technology. Through a revenue-share model, your school will receive a portion of the sale price of the refurbished device!
3. Purchase refurbished devices. Refurbished electronics tend to come at a lower price than new ones, so you can get more units for the same amount of money. Plus, all refurbished devices that PlanITROI sells come with an unheard of 18-month warranty!

PlanITROI’s core mission is “changing lives with affordable technology”. We also recognize that no two schools, districts, or, organizations, are the same and, can customize a plan that yields the highest recovery for your outdated devices.