Derek Slap

Sen. Slap Welcomes $492 Million in Emergency Federal Education Relief for Connecticut, Including $7 Million For Four Area Towns

State Senator Derek Slap (D-West Hartford) today welcomed the receipt of $492.43 million in federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds for Connecticut, including $7,093,406 in federal funding for schools in the four 5th State Senate District towns he represents. 

The federal funds, which are part of the federal Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, must be used to reduce educational disparities that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Local funding incudes:

• Bloomfield, $1,743,911
• Burlington (along with Regional School District 10), $330,456
• Farmington, $1,019,624
• West Hartford, $3,999,415

“I don’t know of a single parent, including myself, who does not value public education and who doesn’t want the best for their child, especially in these very trying circumstances during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic,” Sen. Slap said. “Once again, state and federal spending is helping to smooth the rough edges of online learning and all the accompanying inequities and challenges that come with it. I’m grateful for this infusion of much-needed federal spending, and I’m sure local school boards will determine the best way to make the most of this money.”

Approved uses of the federal funds include coordinating improved COVID-19 response, prevention and preparation efforts; addressing learning loss among students, including groups seen to experience increased learning loss such as low-income students, children with disabilities, English learners, racial and ethnic minorities, students experiencing homelessness and children and youth in foster care; addressing individual schools’ needs; improving sanitation on school campuses; and improving indoor air quality in schools while reducing risk of environmental health hazards, among others.