Superintendents reflect on American Rescue Plan spending as funds expire

With the September 30 obligation deadline for American Rescue Plan (ARP) dollars having passed, policymakers are reflecting on the usage and efficacy of these critical pandemic relief funds. In a newly released report from AASA, The School Superintendents Association, more than 600 superintendents provide crucial insights for policymakers on both the successes and challenges in executing this unprecedented federal relief package.

During a recent briefing, the AASA highlighted findings from their newly released report, School District Spending of American Rescue Plan: Part V, which serves as the culminating report in their five-part survey of superintendents. While the previous surveys in this series addressed superintendents' hopes for the funds, challenges in implementation, and trends in expenditures among districts, this final survey sought to highlight how district leaders actually spent these funds.

As AASA expected, the survey revealed that expanded learning was the top expenditure for districts using ARP funds. 80% of superintendents reported that a portion of their ARP funds went towards expanding instructional time through summer programming and afterschool opportunities. Over half of district leaders (52%) spent 10-25% of their ARP funds on expanded learning, while 8% spent 26-50% of their funds on these programs. Approximately 1 in 4 superintendents (26%) spent less than 10% of their funds on expanded learning.

Along with investing in expanded learning, district leaders also used funds to address pressing issues like student mental health, technology and connectivity disparities, and school renovations. Although the report found that the infusion of federal funds was extremely useful in addressing these longstanding challenges exacerbated by the pandemic, superintendents would have liked more time to maximize their district’s funds. Nearly half of the district leaders surveyed (48%) would have liked another year to spend their relief dollars. With an extra year, 20% of superintendents would allocate the funds to sustain expanded instructional programs, such as afterschool and summer activities. Furthermore, 28% of district leaders would prioritize investing in mental health services and personnel during that extra year.

The AASA survey also sought to provide insight into whether the ARP funds were well-spent, which proved difficult to generalize. Although new research suggests that increased per-pupil expenditure from ARP dollars led to gains in both math and ELA, Sasha Pudelski, director of Advocacy at AASA, remarked at the briefing that test scores alone aren’t a sufficient measure to illustrate the full impact of such a large infusion of funds into such a decentralized education system.

Given the variety of spending priorities and outcome goals among districts, the report suggests that it is ultimately the discretion of school districts to determine the success of their ARP spending.

During the briefing, Rupak Gandhi, Superintendent of Fargo Public Schools (FPS) in North Dakota, explained that to measure success, the district evaluates each ARP-funded program in isolation using key performance indicators to determine if individual programs are meeting or exceeding outcome goals. This data-driven approach revealed significant improvements in key areas selected by the district and community, including attendance and disciplinary actions. Gandhi plans to use these insights to shape the district’s long-term strategy as the ARP funds expire.

While it is too early to ascertain the full impact of ARP allocations, the improvements seen in Fargo Public Schools, findings from AASA’s survey series, and the more than 500 examples of ARP investments in afterschool and summer programs, highlight the critical role federal investment plays in helping districts meet their students' needs. In fact, AASA’s survey found that 42% of superintendents believe that all of their students would be impacted when programming and staffing funded through ARP comes to an end.

For a deeper look at superintendents' reflections on ARP spending, read the full report.