Federal Grant Feedback Deadline Thursday For Montgomery ISD

MONTGOMERY, TX — Montgomery Independent School District is receiving input from the public on its plans for federal grant money in the 2021-22 school year.

The school district received $772,447 in federal funding through the Title I, Title II and Title IV programs last school year. With the addition of ESSER grants established to help schools recover from and navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic, Montgomery ISD is applying for over $7.2 million in grants for 2021-22.

The district laid out its plans for the various grants in a powerpoint presentation available on the Montgomery ISD website. Residents can provide feedback in this survey. The deadline for feedback is Thursday.

The presentation outlines five different grants: Title I, Title II, Title IV, ESSER II and ESSER III.

Here are the total allotments of each grant:

• Title I: $591,223
• Title II: $174,663
• Title IV: $43,363
• ESSER II: $1,996,990
• ESSER III: $4,484,956

Title I grants provide for additional resources for schools with high concentrations of students from low-income homes. Montgomery ISD has three schools with Title I designation in Lincoln Elementary School, Montgomery Elementary School and Stewart Creek Elementary School. The district's plan for Title I grant money would provide over $489,000 to spread across the three campuses with the remaining $93,620 going to the district for parent engagement, professional development and homelessness in the district.

The purpose of Title II grants is to support educators in their work to improve the quality of instruction and ensure equity of educational opportunity for all students. In the district's outline, $80,000 would be put toward professional and contracted services, including training and professional memberships and conferences. Over $34,000 would be used for curriculum planning, and $60,000 used for additional stipends for the gifted and talented and special education programs.

The Title IV grant program has three objectives: to provide all students a well-rounded education, improve academic outcomes by keeping students healthy and safe and improve the use of technology to advance academic achievement. The district plans to use $24,000 for contracted services, including a cybersecurity audit, while $12,363 is budgeted for supplies and materials for the leadership academy and science, technology, engineering and math. The remaining $7,000 would go to operating costs, which could include threat assessment and active shooter training.

In both the ESSER II and ESSER III grants, at least 20 percent of the funds must be put toward evidence-based interventions for academic and social/emotional needs. The district's plans far exceed this mark for both grants, allotting $1.25 million for theses purposes in ESSER II and $2.3 million in ESSER III. Some of the items listed under these sections include additional counselors, mental health resources, instruction specialists, character education program, curriculum materials and summer school enrichment.

In the district's outline for the ESSER II grant, $350,000 will go toward staff and professional development needs and $220,000 to technology-related services. For the ESSER III grant, over $1.4 million is allotted for staff supporting instruction, which includes the executive director of curriculum and instruction, instruction coordinators and a dyslexia coordinator. The remaining $650,000 is planned for technology-related services.