Federal Coronavirus Aid For Schools: See How Much SC Schools Got

SOUTH CAROLINA — The federal government has poured some $190 billion into the nation’s schools since March 2020 to help offset the costs of coping with the coronavirus pandemic — more than four times what the U.S. Education Department spends on K-12 schools in a typical year.

About $2.9 billion of that total went to South Carolina schools, according to an analysis by the Associated Press.Exact allocations to charter schools in South Carolina under the governor's funds have not been made available.

Relying on data published or provided by states and the federal government, the AP also tallied how much money was granted to nearly every school district in the state and country.

The AP tracked more than $156 billion out of the $190 billion sent to states to distribute among schools since last year, including general pandemic relief that some states shared with their schools. Some districts will receive sums amounting to 50 percent or more of the cost to run their schools for a year.

The aid averages nearly $2,800 per student nationwide, but it varies widely by district and state, according to the AP's analysis.

The AP did not provide state-by-state per-pupil figures, except to note that districts in Louisiana and the District of Columbia averaged more than $2,100 per student, while those in Utah received a little more than $400 each. Nationwide, high-poverty areas received much more under the funding formula.

Not all states have allocated all their funding. In some areas, charter school and/or private schools funds flow through public school districts.

See the full list of schools compiled by the AP.

The following school districts in South Carolina received the most funding, according to the AP’s preliminary analysis:

1. Greenville 01 (77,302 pupils): $254.61 million
2. Charleston 01 (50,299 pupils): $249.15 million
3. Horry 01 (45,759 pupils): $194.88 million
4. Richland 01 (23,391 pupils): $120.96 million
5. Berkeley 01 (37,219 pupils): $111.54 million
6. Aiken 01 (24,184 pupils): $98.22 million
7. Sumter 01 (16,336 pupils): $82.06 million
8. Orangeburg (12,265 pupils): $80.16 million
9. Beaufort 01 (22,405 pupils): $78.5 million
10. Florence 01 (15,936 pupils): $62.71 million

Three of the biggest sources of federal aid came in March and December 2020 and March 2021.

About $13.2 billion was allocated through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, which was part of the March 2020 CARES Act. It was followed by another $54.3 billion in December 2020.

Nearly $122 billion in aid was given to states in March 2021 from the federal government, with most of it going to local education agencies.
 
Some governors also used discretionary federal funds to bolster school resources.

Editor's note: This post was automatically generated using data from the Associated Press. Written by Rich Scinto, Patch Staff and AP. Please report any errors or other feedback to content@patch.com.