OCPA column: Why weren't schools prepared for COVID after flood of federal funds?

Why weren’t schools prepared for COVID? By Jonathan Small Gov. Kevin Stitt’s critics, who include some officials working in public schools, have suggested he can somehow stop the spread of an airborne virus with the waive of a government wand. If that’s true, then why haven’t those critics done so in public schools? Contrary to stereotype, Oklahoma schools have been flooded with federal funding to address COVID challenges, yet many continue to close for in-person learning as though nothing has changed since the pandemic’s initial outbreak. Since 2020, Congress has approved three rounds of federal COVID-bailout funding, providing more than $2 billion combined to Oklahoma school districts to mitigate viral spread, address challenges created by the pandemic, and reverse learning loss tied to COVID shutdowns. More than 70 percent of that money—about $1.4 billion—remains unspent today, according to figures recently presented to state lawmakers during a budget hearing for the Oklahoma State Department of Education. Read more » by Jamison Faught - February 07, 2022 at 08:08AM

OCPA column: Why weren't schools prepared for COVID after flood of federal funds? Click the title to read the entire article at Muskogee Politico