Fiscal Facts: Adding It All Up: Wisconsin School Districts’ Use of Federal Pandemic Relief Funds

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Wisconsin school districts received about $2.3 billion in one-time federal relief funds to address the effects of the pandemic and boost student recovery. Early spending focused on educational technology to help students and schools adapt to virtual learning, while later spending focused on catching students up academically following setbacks from the pandemic and long-term school closures. 

Despite these efforts, Wisconsin students have yet to fully catch up from the effects of the pandemic, a recent Wisconsin Policy Forum report found. Using data from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI), we analyzed spending claims by districts to offer a statewide look at how they used federal relief aid.

Through successive federal laws, districts received $46.6 million in Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER I) funds, $158.5 million in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER I) funds, $685.4 million in ESSER II funds, and $1.43 billion in ESSER III funds.

ESSER funds were distributed through the same formula used for federal Title I aid, which delivers greater aid to districts serving more students from low-income households. GEER I funds were distributed to districts that were most impacted by COVID-19, based on the percentage of students in need of academic support and their ability to access learning. 

The average school district in Wisconsin received $2,841 per pupil across all ESSER and GEER I funds, and the median amount was $1,784 per pupil. Congress allowed the funds to be used for a wide array of expenditures. However, in the final installment of ESSER funds provided by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), districts were required to use at least 20% of the aid to address the decline in student academic achievement.

The spending categories Wisconsin used include addressing long-term school closure; preparedness and response to COVID-19; educational technology; mental health services and supports; addressing afterschool and summer learning; outreach and service delivery to special populations; and other.

Over time, the spending shifted from prioritizing educational technology and adjusting to virtual learning to prioritizing school reopening, and then to addressing long-term school closure. Measures undertaken as part of the latter category included acquiring and distributing virtual learning resources, providing meals, and expanding academic support services. The preparedness and response to COVID-19 category also remained a priority for districts during each round of aid. This category focused on cleaning protocols, physical distancing plans, training employees, purchasing safety supplies, and later also included greater spending on district buildings and capital projects.

Overall, spending patterns across district types remained largely consistent. One exception was that districts in which a majority of the student population are students of color spent the greatest portion of federal relief funds per pupil on preparedness and response to COVID-19, rather than addressing long-term school closure. Given that districts with a majority of students of color faced some of the biggest impacts to learning and associated difficulties such as chronic absenteeism, it’s worth reflecting on whether this spending mix was the highest and best use of a scarce one-time resource.

While federal pandemic relief funds provided temporary support to districts across Wisconsin, their ultimate impact on student recovery and on schools themselves appears mixed. Some districts have seen notable improvements in student outcomes, proving that progress is possible. However, overall statewide test scores, chronic absenteeism, and other key metrics have not returned to pre-pandemic levels.

This information is a service of the Wisconsin Policy Forum, the state’s leading resource for nonpartisan state and local government research and civic education. Learn more at wispolicyforum.org.