Pittsburgh Public Schools officials and elected leaders met at West Liberty Elementary Monday to discuss the district's plans for $122 million in federal pandemic relief.
Congressman Mike Doyle (D-18) said the money will likely come in payments starting this summer. The district is required to allocate the money by 2024.
Superintendent Dr. Anthony Hamlet said the district's top priority is addressing learning loss in students.
"When you think about everything we're doing right now, transportation, infrastructure, technology, all of that impacts learning loss and how we can mitigate learning loss," he said. "Getting kids to school, getting kids technology, giving them access to the internet, looking at it holistically, that's how we're going to begin to break down this digital divide and make sure these kids are learning."
District leaders also discussed using the money for upgraded wireless infrastructure, updated technology for classrooms and kickstarting efforts to improve ventilation in buildings.
The funding is part of the American Rescue Plan, which dedicated $130 billion for schools nationwide.
Doyle pointed out the American Rescue Plan mandates districts use at least 20 percent of the money they receive be used to mitigate learning loss.
"We know that there's going to be many students coming back in the fall at different levels of where they are within their grade," Doyle said. "We need to make sure we're addressing that problem. We think it's very important. That's why that mandate, it's the one mandate you see in the bill."
While PPS battles learning loss among students, the district is also mitigating a bus driver shortage threatening student transportation.
Over 4,700 students returned to in-person learning April 6 as part of Support Category Four. Monday, an additional 3,500 students in Support Category Three returned to the classroom.
Hamlet said the district had adequate buses for the first two groups of students, but there will likely be a shortage as the remaining students return to in-person learning on May 3.
"We're working through that," he said. "We put out a robocall to parents and said 'if you can, bring your child to school,' and we had several parents immediately call and give up their spot because they have the ability to take their child. We're working through this as a community."
Hamlet said he hopes the issue will be resolved by the fall.
The district is also considering partnering with the Port Authority to give students additional transportation options, but district officials noted Monday that comes with its own set of issues. The Port Authority runs on its own capacity restrictions, and drivers will skip stops if the bus is full.
