From the desk of the County Manager,

The COVID-19 pandemic had significant impacts across a broad range of American society, and the Durham County community was no different. The pandemic impacted our economy, our health, our social cohesion, and so many other aspects of our daily lives. As the pandemic receded, one of the lasting effects was the pandemic's impact on our nation's schools. The pandemic equally highlighted the need for continued improvements to the learning environment and student health resources to protect against the spread of communicable illnesses like COVID-19 and ensure that student health issues that arise at school can be appropriately and timely addressed.

To facilitate the recovery of our County's school system from the effects of the pandemic, and to help guard against a recurrence, the County has invested a significant portion of its American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF) allocation towards projects to support Durham Public Schools (DPS) in its recovery and prevention efforts. A subgrant is a portion of a federal grant award that the County passes through to another organization—in this case, DPS – to carry out specific projects that align with the original grant's objectives. The following highlights the three subgrant awards:

• • $6 million of the County’s ARPA grant award was allocated to DPS through a subgrant to support capital projects intended to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and other communicable illnesses, and to improve the quality and safety of the learning environment at several of the district’s Title I schools.
  • $1.4 million of the County’s ARPA allocation was subgranted to DPS to support teacher salary costs at Title I schools, ensuring that students in the County’s highest needs schools have access to the instructional resources needed to help them recover from the academic effects of the pandemic and continue their growth towards a bright future.
  • $1.2 million of the County’s ARPA allocation is being used to support School Nurse positions within Durham County’s Public Health Department. While these nurses are County employees, they are assigned to DPS in accordance with school needs to ensure that on-site health resources are available to meet the needs of Durham students.

The below information provides further specifics on the use of the ARPA funds allocated to DPS to support school capital projects and instructional personnel at Title I schools.

ARPA-Funded School Capital Projects

DPS will be utilizing the $6 million subgrant from the County to support the completion of eight individual projects across the district. These projects will focus on HVAC upgrades and maintenance, safety system replacements, and other urgent mechanical and environmental repairs across the district that DPS has determined are needed for a safe, healthy, and positive learning environment. While some of the planned projects will be districtwide, the subgranted funds will be used to support several school-specific projects.

These projects, as well as the districtwide initiatives, reflect Durham County’s and DPS’s commitments to ensuring that students have access to the learning environment necessary to support their academic progress.

ARPA-Funded Supplemental Support for Title I Schools

DPS is utilizing the $1.4 million in subgranted ARPA funds to support salary costs for instructional personnel at several district Title I schools for both the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 academic years. For the 2024-2025 academic year, funds were used to support 30 positions at three separate Title I elementary schools – Burton Elementary School, Eno Valley Elementary School, and C.C. Spaulding Elementary School. For the 2025-2026 academic year, DPS will be able to evaluate its staffing needs and utilize funding to support selected positions to maximize the impact of the funds.

Durham County’s Ongoing Investment in Durham Public Schools

The subgranting of these ARPA funds reflects the County’s ongoing commitment to support the needs of Durham Public Schools to ensure that all of our County’s youth are provided with the best possible education. The County appreciates the ongoing partnership of the Board of Education and Durham Public Schools as we work together to create a brighter future for the everyone!

Until next week,

Claudia Hager | County Manager