COVID-19 Federal Recovery Funds

Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER)

Tulsa Public Schools has been allocated three rounds of federal recovery funds since March 2020, totaling a little more than $205 million. These funds are reimbursed by the Oklahoma State Department of Education after submission of claims that meet the ESSER investment criteria established by the federal government.

Federal recovery expenditures have three levels of accountability for legal compliance with the grant:

Tulsa Public Schools staff review
Oklahoma State Department of Education review
External independent auditors

Per federal and state guidance, all of these funds must be used to "prevent, prepare for, respond to, or recover from Coronavirus."

Round of recovery funds	Amount and date	Current status
CARES/ESSER I - signed in March 2020	$16,295,033 available to spend through 9/30/22. An additional $360,070 was awarded through a competitive grant to support the science of reading. These funds are available through 9/30/22.	This funding is fully spent.
ESSER II - signed in December 2020	$58,271,076 available to spend through 9/30/23.	This funding is fully spent.
ESSER III/American Rescue Plan - signed in March 2021	$131,006,737 available to spend through 9/30/24. 20% of this amount must be spent to address the academic impact of lost instructional time.	We have plans to spend these funds to support our strategic plan and other needs. As of July 1, 2024, there is ~$10.8M remaining in ESSER III/American Rescue Plan funding.

Round of recovery funds

Amount and date

Current status

CARES/ESSER I - signed in March 2020

$16,295,033 available to spend through 9/30/22.

An additional $360,070 was awarded through a competitive grant to support the science of reading. These funds are available through 9/30/22.

This funding is fully spent.

ESSER II - signed in December 2020

$58,271,076 available to spend through 9/30/23.

This funding is fully spent.

ESSER III/American Rescue Plan - signed in March 2021

$131,006,737 available to spend through 9/30/24.

20% of this amount must be spent to address the academic impact of lost instructional time.

We have plans to spend these funds to support our strategic plan and other needs. As of July 1, 2024, there is ~$10.8M remaining in ESSER III/American Rescue Plan funding.

In April 2021, the Tulsa Public Schools Board of Education began an extensive community outreach effort, completing 35 engagement and listening sessions to understand the community’s expectations. In June 2021, a 30-person community committee was created to guide the development of the strategic plan; six core strategies were approved in August 2021. More than a dozen stakeholder engagement sessions were hosted beginning in September 2021 to share the strategies and collect feedback.

YOU CAN LOCATE THE UPDATED ARP SPENDING PLAN FOR REVIEW HERE

Tulsa Public Schools has taken the community engagement and survey feedback into consideration, as well as examined the ever-evolving needs of the district as we respond to COVID-19, and has developed a plan to spend the remaining American Rescue Plan dollars. These plans are subject to change as the needs of our school community change. Our intent is to spend dollars within the categories listed below, though individual investment amounts may shift within categories.

As we phase out federal recovery funds, we have approximately $10.8 million of ESSER III/American Rescue Plan dollars remaining to invest in our strategic plan and other areas. After the fiscal year ends, we will update our report on this page to include the final figures and detail the investments made under ESSER III/American Rescue Plan.

STRATEGIES TO ADDRESS LEARNING LOSS - $2.3M
Other Resources to Support the Strategic Plan - $8.5M

STRATEGIES TO ADDRESS LEARNING LOSS - $2.3M

Strategies to Address Learning Loss - $2.3M

Every district is required to engage in discussions regarding the utilization of the the 20% reservation to mitigate the academic repercussions caused by the loss of instructional time during COVID. This can be achieved through the implementation of evidence-based interventions, such as summer learning or summer enrichment, extended day, or comprehensive after school programs. In Tulsa Public Schools, the mandated 20% reservation amounts to $26,092,468. We have outlined our current strategies below, but please note that these plans are subject to modification as we continue to assess data regarding recovery from learning loss through September 30th, 2024.

Note: All amounts listed are subject to change due to a variety of factors, including updated data, needs, and the factors outlined in the chart below.

Description	Amount of investment	Time frame	What could make us spend less recovery dollars on this?	What could make us spend more recovery dollars on this?
Ready. Set. Summer!	$1.6M	September 30, 2024	Program evaluation, cost efficiency measures, and leveraging additional funding sources could reduce the amount of ESSER dollars needed.	Costs would increase if the program generated significant interest, leading to a decision to expand access.
Instructional Curriculum	$0.7	September 30, 2024	Program evaluation, cost efficiency measures, and leveraging additional funding sources could reduce the amount of ESSER dollars needed.	Costs would increase if the program generated significant interest, leading to a decision to expand access.

Other Resources to Support the Strategic Plan - $8.5M

OTHER RESOURCES TO SUPPORT THE STRATEGIC PLAN - $8.5M

Note:  All amounts listed are subject to change due to a variety of factors, including updated data, needs, and the factors outlined in the chart below. 

Description	Amount of investment	Time frame	What could make us spend less recovery dollars on this?	What could make us spend more recovery dollars on this?
Retention incentives including but not limited to principals and assistant principals, certified, and support staff.	$6.1M	2024-2025	A higher number of vacancies than anticipated would result in fewer employees existing to receive incentives.	Strategic planning to increase incentives to attract additional staff and retain existing staff would increase expense.
Chromebook devices	$2.4M	2024-2025	Program evaluation, cost efficiency measures, and leveraging additional funding sources could reduce the amount of ESSER dollars needed.	Costs would increase if the program generated significant interest, leading to a decision to expand access.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did all school districts in Oklahoma receive the same amount of funding?

How many ESSER grants has Tulsa Public Schools received?

Tulsa Public Schools has received three ESSER grants - ESSER I/CARES, ESSER II, and ESSER III/American Rescue Plan. This funding will help Tulsa schools address the impact the pandemic has had - and will continue to have - on our schools. Oklahoma is a reimbursement state, meaning that districts do not receive the funding in advance. We must use local operating funds to hire staff, purchase supplies, and procure services that are then reimbursed after the fact.

Find It Fast

Icon Boxes

Portal Boxes Container

Find It Fast - Box 1

Find It Fast - Box 2

Find It Fast - Box 3

Elementary School

Middle School

High School

Alternative Schools

Charter/Partner Schools