WASHINGTON (NEWS10) – Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer announced that the recently-signed American Rescue Plan includes $2.5 billion for Upstate New York school districts. Schumer says this funding will allow Upstate New York’s schools to fill budget gaps, address learning loss, meet the needs of students with disabilities, assist students experiencing homelessness, provide summer enrichment and afterschool programs, and more.
After COVID forced schools to close, Schumer’s office says safely reopening them has and will continue to cost tens of thousands of dollars. He says the federal funding allocated for schools in the American Rescue Plan will help bring students back to classrooms.
“Everyone wants schools to reopen completely and for our children to be able to return to the classroom, but it needs to be done in a way that is safe for students, families, educators, and learning institutions,” said Senator Schumer. “COVID brought unprecedented challenges that have cost a year of learning and development for students—challenges disproportionately felt by students of color, students from low-income families, students with disabilities, and more.”
“The name American Rescue Plan says it all: This is a real rescue package for K-12 schools across New York as they continue to grapple with needs only exacerbated by this pandemic,” New York State United Teachers President, Andy Pallotta said. “From helping districts preserve existing academic services to getting kids the social-emotional supports they need to providing the funding needed to reopen more classrooms with the right safety measures in place, Sen. Schumer, Congress and the president have delivered for New York students yet again.”
This funding is in addition to the $5 billion Schumer secured for New York school districts in the past COVID relief bills. In total, Schumer has secured over $14 billion for New York school districts in the past year.
Estimated breakdown by region below:
| Region | Total |
| Capital Region | $219,738,000 |
| Southern Tier | $227,876,000 |
| Western New York | $481,551,000 |
| Hudson Valley | $623,973,000 |
| Rochester-Finger Lakes | $391,986,000 |
| Central New York | $254,493,000 |
| Mohawk Valley | $173,398,000 |
| North Country | $134,948,000 |
| Total | $2,507,963,000 |
