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The Detroit school district is getting a $70 million federal reimbursement for some of the costs associated with testing students and staff for COVID as part of its response to the pandemic.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced the reimbursement this week, saying in a news release that the Detroit Public Schools Community District is being reimbursed for its efforts “to keep kids safe and continue the critical services that they provided to so many Detroit families during the pandemic.”
The district contracted with LynxDX to provide COVID testing for students and staff during the pandemic. Testing was a requirement to attend school in person for a time because surging COVID rates were causing schools to shut down and students to attend online.
Detroit Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said in an email that COVID testing programs initiated by school districts were eligible for reimbursement by FEMA. The district began the reimbursement process in December 2022, Vitti said.
The district initially planned to use federal COVID relief money to cover the costs of the testing. In his email, Vitti said, “The COVID testing program costs were shifted to District general funds, so that they would be eligible for FEMA reimbursement.”
Once the money is sent to the district, officials will have to determine how to use it.
“It’s one-time funding so we will continue to use fiscal discipline and use it for one-time purposes such as continuing facility upgrades or a way to protect initiatives such as contracted nursing or mental health support for students if state grants in these areas are eliminated,” Vitti said.
Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.
