RALEIGH (Aug. 25, 2020) – Fluid situations demand flexible funds.
That’s what state education leaders asked of a state House committee this week as they sought $350 million to deal with the coronavirus pandemic when the General Assembly returns to session next Wednesday.
The state’s own financial picture is fluid, Committee Chair John Fraley said repeatedly, because Congress has not yet agreed on a second round of pandemic relief funds.
Depending on federal action, the state has $552 million to $903 million remaining from the federal CARES Act that it left unspent last spring. Fraley, R-Iredell, said state legislators might allocate what is available next week and return again before the end of the year, after Congress acts.
Jennifer Haygood, Chief Financial Officer of the UNC System, said state universities spent $322 million last spring on room and board refunds, emergency student aid, remote instruction, personal protective equipment and additional sanitation. The system received $293 million in reimbursements.
Enrollment has remained roughly level across the 17-campus system, she said.
But campuses are dealing with constantly shifting conditions, prompted in part by students’ off-campus activities. UNC President Peter Hans has directed campuses to develop enforcement strategies and hold students accountable, Haygood said.
“As soon as we come up with a plan, conditions change and we see that we have to pivot,” she said.
Thus far, UNC Chapel Hill, NC State and East Carolina University have shifted all undergraduate courses online. UNC Charlotte plans to start classes Sept. 7 online, then move to in-person classes in October.
Symptomatic students tend to have more “close contacts” – an average of 15, versus an average of eight for the population at large – and that tends to increase contact-tracing costs, Haygood said. Reducing housing density on campus will also have significant financial ramifications.
Because of the ever-shifting conditions, Haygood said, the UNC System is seeking an additional $100 million for four broad categories:
- Public health protocols such as testing, contact tracing and quarantine.
- Reopening costs including building modifications to support social distancing and improved ventilation.
- Ongoing cleaning and personal protective equipment.
- Student support and aid, including online tutoring and devices – some students are even trying to attend remote classes using a phone, Haygood said, and student mental health is a growing problem.
In budget adjustments for 2020-21 released yesterday, Gov. Roy Cooper recommended $75 million for the UNC System’s pandemic response.1
THE NC COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM requested $76 million to improve student success in online courses with additional faculty and advisors; strengthen the state’s economic recovery with equipment and instructors for short-term training; and ensure student and employee safety with PPE, testing, reduced class sizes and plexiglas shields for instructors.
In his recommendations yesterday, Cooper proposed $30 million for the Community College System’s pandemic response.2
FOR K-12 SCHOOLS, the State Board of Education and Department of Public Instruction requested $122 million, including $44.5 million for personal protective equipment; $18 million for transportation, primarily to deliver meals to students; and $15 million to improve student access to broadband Internet service.
The governor’s recommended budget includes $132 million for public schools’ pandemic response.3
Public school officials seek $1 million for a pilot project with Spacex to deliver high-speed Internet to hard-to-reach locations via a network of low-orbit satellites.
Other states are already experimenting with satellite-delivered Internet, said State Board Chair Eric Davis, and the service should be available in North Carolina by October. Officials want to use the service to reach mobile-home parks and apartment complexes where fiber-optic cable isn’t planned.
“We’d sure like to take advantage of the opportunity,” he said.
1 https://files.nc.gov/ncosbm/documents/files/BudgetBook_web2020.pdf, pp. 6-7.
2 Ibid.3Ibid.
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