See where hundreds of millions in CMS and city of Charlotte COVID relief dollars went
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COVID money’s final deadline
The federal government’s COVID relief packages brought windfalls of hundreds of millions to local governments and schools. Now, they’ll have to find ways to help struggling students or ensure affordable housing without it.
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See where hundreds of millions in CMS and city of Charlotte COVID relief dollars went
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The city of Charlotte and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools received a combined $900 million in COVID-19 relief funding. Much of the city’s money went to housing initiatives. Some of the top recipients for CMS dollars were academic and mental health support and staffing.
Here’s a look at how the city of Charlotte and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools spent their money.
Out of $359.47 million the city received in total federal COVID relief, the city budgeted about $100 million to economic and workforce development, about $100 million to maintain city operations during the pandemic and $38 million for other community investments.
But the largest chunk of that money — about $130 million — went to building affordable housing and keeping people in their homes during a volatile economic period.
Of the $130.3 million in allocations related to housing, $47 million went to building housing and keeping it affordable, $63 million went directly to renters for emergency assistance and $20 million went to other forms of housing support, including mortgage assistance and homelessness programs.
In 2020 and 2021, Congress allocated more than $190 billion in COVID-19 relief funds for public and private schools. Most of the more than $542 million given to CMS has already been spent.
CMS received $542.1 million of federal relief funding — 52% of that has been spent; 17% already is attached to a contract or purchase order; 26% is planned according to district priorities and 5% remains unbudgeted.
CMS is using more than $200 million in COVID relief to help students recover from learning lost during the pandemic. The district also earmarked $160 million for initiatives that include mental health services for students, retention bonuses for 18,000 employees and hiring 461 guest teachers.
COVID relief-funded initiatives also include providing translation services to help schools communicate with families who don’t speak English and contracting nurses who provided coverage to 40 schools that otherwise wouldn’t have a nurse.
This story was originally published April 18, 2023 at 6:00 AM.
