Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) allocation and expenditures by district in Utah

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Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding was a series of grants totaling roughly $190 billion that Congress sent to K-12 public schools during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Congress included the funding in three separate spending packages between 2020 and 2021. The first of these occurred in March 27, 2020, when President Donald Trump (R) signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, releasing $13.2 billion to schools. In an April 23, 2020, letter sent to state education commissioners, then-Education Secretary Betsy DeVos wrote: "The ESSER Fund provides you, and your local educational agencies, with emergency relief funds to address the impact that COVID-19 has had, and continues to have, on elementary and secondary schools."[1]

In response to the pandemic, all 50 states closed schools to in-person instruction between February and April 2020.

At the time, the $190 billion was the largest injection of federal funding into the education system in a one-year period.[2] Trump signed the second ESSER package, providing roughly $54 billion through the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act, into law on December 27, 2020. President Joe Biden (D) signed the final ESSER package on March 11, 2021, apportioning $122 billion to schools through the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act. Each of the three ESSER packages came with their own spending deadlines. Districts had until January 2025 to spend the last round of the funding, known as ESSER III.[3]

Congress placed few strings on the grants, largely relying on districts to make their own spending decisions.[4] The expiration of the ESSER funding posed a challenge to districts that allocated a relatively greater portion to recurring expenses, such as teacher salaries or new staff.[5] An August 2023 School Superintendents Association (AASA) survey found that 53% of respondents said they would need to cut support staff in response to the expiration of ESSER funding.[6] A 2024 survey of district leaders by the management consulting firm McKinsey & Company found that 53% of district leaders "expect a fiscal cliff in their district’s spending when ESSER concludes."[7]

On this page, you will find data on the funding Congress allocated to Utah's school districts through the three ESSER grants (I, II, and III). Data is made available by Georgetown University's Edunomics Lab.[8] Navigate the page using the following links:

ESSER I

The table below shows the total amount of ESSER I funding allocated to each district in Utah.

Utah ESSER I allocation by district
District name Total ESSER I allocation
Alpine School District $6,181,098
American Academy of Innovation $3,868
American Leadership Academy $170,373
American Preparatory (Utah Charter Academies Inc) $521,065
Ames $43,701
Ascent Academies of Utah $105,255
Athenian eAcademy $39,149
Athlos Academies $12,834
Bear River Charter School $13,322
Beaver Co School District $103,692
Beehive Science and Technology Academy $27,483
Bonneville Academy $35,555
Box Elder Co School District $804,398
C.S. Lewis Academy $53,809
Cache Co School District $1,149,970
Canyon Grove (Quail Run Primary School Foundation) $34,815
Canyon Rim Academy $5,637
Canyons School District $2,399,844
Carbon Co School District $477,602
Center For Creativity Innovation And Discovery $27,410
Channing Hall $9,656
City Academy $26,021
Davinci Academy of Science and The Arts $121,726
Davis Co School District $4,675,815
Dual Immersion Academy $111,669
Duchesne Co School District $330,714
Early Light Academy $13,190
East Hollywood High School Inc $44,412
Emery School District $198,955
Endeavor Hall $51,682
Entheos Academy $140,526
Esperanza Elementary (Generacion Floreciente) $97,450
Excelsior Academy $49,107
Fast Forward Charter High School $37,841
Franklin Discovery Academy Vineyard $34,088
Freedom Academy $145,293
Garfield Co School District $88,605
Gateway Preparatory Academy $110,912
George Washington Academy $56,316
Good Foundations Academy Charter School $32,234
Grand Co School District $217,200
Granite School District $10,732,740
Greenwood Charter School $53,177
Guadalupe School Salt Lake City School Dist $73,010
Hawthorn Academy $80,726
Highmark Charter School $10,868
Intech Collegiate Academy $9,164
Iron Co School District $1,490,898
Itineris Early College High School $23,727
Jefferson Academy $30,237
Jordan School District $2,747,663
Juab School District $214,036
Kane Co School District $119,482
Lakeview Academy $15,708
Leadership Academy of Utah $26,438
Leadership Learning Academy $109,661
Lincoln Academy Incorporated $17,308
Logan City School District $1,234,968
Mana Academy (Salt Lake Charter School) $81,152
Maria Montessori Academy $36,309
Merit Preparatory Academy $48,292
Millard School District $324,236
Moab Charter School $10,370
Monticello Academy Inc $78,354
Morgan School District $45,892
Mountain View Montessori $39,993
Mountain West Montessori Academy $6,482
Murray School District $523,626
Navigator Pointe Academy $12,524
Nebo School District $2,162,591
Noah Webster Academy Inc $57,729
North Davis Preparatory Academy $62,283
North Sanpete School District $316,408
North Star Academy $4,427
North Summit School District $61,815
Ogden City School District $2,954,122
Ogden Preparatory Academy $181,493
Open Classroom Charter School $23,347
Pacific Heritage Academy $63,743
Park City School District $189,935
Pinnacle Canyon Academy $93,355
Piute School District $55,454
Promontory School of Expeditionary Learning $37,069
Providence Hall $33,025
Provo School District $2,146,465
Quest Academy $41,509
Rich School District $32,300
Ronald Wilson Reagan Academy $50,897
Roots Charter High School $19,266
Salt Lake Arts Academy $6,440
Salt Lake School For Performing Arts $13,348
San Juan School District $710,243
Scholar Academy $51,961
Sevier School District $502,683
SL Center For Science Education $44,788
SLC School District $4,401,085
Soldier Hollow Charter School $4,397
South Sanpete School District $319,701
South Summit School District $31,236
Spectrum Academy $79,301
Success Academy $21,994
Summit Academy High School $18,272
Summit Academy Incorporated $37,827
Syracuse Arts Academy Inc $109,002
Terra Academy $43,046
Tintic School District $16,723
Tooele School District $834,068
Treeside Charter School $46,573
Tuacahn High School $24,997
Uintah River High School $14,627
Uintah School District $586,221
USU Edith Bowen Lab School $19,373
Utah Connections Academy $98,794
Utah International Charter School $57,066
Utah Military Academy $57,542
Utah Virtual Academy $299,586
Valley Academy Charter $57,934
Vanguard Academy Inc $75,686
Venture Academy $60,573
Vista At Entrada Inc $67,795
Voyage Academy $37,816
Walden School $52,926
Wallace Stegner Academy $120,232
Wasatch Peak Academy $9,421
Wasatch School District $320,329
Wasatch Waldorf Charter School $8,783
Washington Co School Dist $3,929,902
Wayne School District $88,137
Weber Co School District $2,149,031


ESSER II

The table below shows the total amount of ESSER II funding allocated to each district in Utah.

Utah ESSER II allocation by district
District name Total ESSER II allocation
Alpine School District $24,978,167
American Academy of Innovation $15,631
American Leadership Academy $688,485
American Preparatory (Utah Charter Academies Inc) $2,105,654
Ames $176,600
Ascent Academies of Utah $425,341
Athenian eAcademy $158,203
Athlos Academies $51,862
Bear River Charter School $53,834
Beaver Co School District $358,483
Beehive Science and Technology Academy $113,508
Bonneville Academy $143,680
Box Elder Co School District $3,250,618
C.S. Lewis Academy $217,445
Cache Co School District $4,647,093
Canyon Grove (Quail Run Primary School Foundation) $140,690
Canyon Rim Academy $22,780
Canyons School District $9,697,906
Carbon Co School District $1,930,017
Center For Creativity Innovation And Discovery $110,765
Channing Hall $39,022
City Academy $105,152
Davinci Academy of Science and The Arts $491,903
Davis Co School District $18,895,233
Dual Immersion Academy $451,261
Duchesne Co School District $1,336,435
Early Light Academy $53,301
East Hollywood High School Inc $179,472
Emery School District $803,989
Endeavor Hall $274,420
Entheos Academy $567,876
Esperanza Elementary (Generacion Floreciente) $393,802
Excelsior Academy $198,443
Fast Forward Charter High School $0
Franklin Discovery Academy Vineyard $137,750
Freedom Academy $587,138
Garfield Co School District $358,057
Gateway Preparatory Academy $448,200
George Washington Academy $227,576
Good Foundations Academy Charter School $83,875
Grand Co School District $877,719
Granite School District $43,371,609
Greenwood Charter School $214,893
Guadalupe School Salt Lake City School Dist $295,037
Hawthorn Academy $326,219
Highmark Charter School $43,918
Intech Collegiate Academy $37,032
Iron Co School District $6,024,804
Itineris Early College High School $95,884
Jefferson Academy $122,191
Jordan School District $11,103,460
Juab School District $864,930
Kane Co School District $482,833
Lakeview Academy $63,478
Leadership Academy of Utah $106,839
Leadership Learning Academy $443,147
Lincoln Academy Incorporated $69,943
Logan City School District $4,988,421
Mana Academy (Salt Lake Charter School) $327,846
Maria Montessori Academy $143,015
Merit Preparatory Academy $195,152
Millard School District $1,310,256
Moab Charter School $41,907
Monticello Academy Inc $316,574
Morgan School District $184,986
Mountain View Montessori $161,613
Mountain West Montessori Academy $26,193
Murray School District $2,116,002
Navigator Pointe Academy $50,799
Nebo School District $8,739,154
Noah Webster Academy Inc $233,287
North Davis Preparatory Academy $251,688
North Sanpete School District $1,278,625
North Star Academy $17,891
North Summit School District $249,799
Ogden City School District $11,937,775
Ogden Preparatory Academy $733,424
Open Classroom Charter School $94,348
Pacific Heritage Academy $257,588
Park City School District $767,540
Pinnacle Canyon Academy $377,253
Piute School District $224,094
Promontory School of Expeditionary Learning $149,799
Providence Hall $133,456
Provo School District $8,673,985
Quest Academy $167,742
Rich School District $0
Ronald Wilson Reagan Academy $205,677
Roots Charter High School $77,854
Salt Lake Arts Academy $26,026
Salt Lake School For Performing Arts $53,939
San Juan School District $2,870,133
Scholar Academy $197,800
Sevier School District $2,031,370
SL Center For Science Education $180,989
SLC School District $17,785,036
Soldier Hollow Charter School $17,767
South Sanpete School District $1,291,930
South Summit School District $126,227
Spectrum Academy $320,298
Success Academy $88,877
Summit Academy High School $44,821
Summit Academy Incorporated $194,847
Syracuse Arts Academy Inc $440,484
Terra Academy $173,953
Tintic School District $0
Tooele School District $3,370,517
Treeside Charter School $188,206
Tuacahn High School $59,917
Uintah River High School $11,501
Uintah School District $2,368,953
USU Edith Bowen Lab School $78,285
Utah Arts Academy $41,099
Utah Connections Academy $399,234
Utah International Charter School $230,608
Utah Military Academy $232,531
Utah Virtual Academy $1,210,642
Valley Academy Charter $234,113
Vanguard Academy Inc $305,850
Venture Academy $244,780
Vista At Entrada Inc $273,957
Voyage Academy $152,816
Walden School $213,878
Wallace Stegner Academy $485,865
Wasatch Peak Academy $38,072
Wasatch School District $1,291,015
Wasatch Waldorf Charter School $35,494
Washington Co School Dist $15,880,959
Wayne School District $356,168
Weber Co School District $8,684,356

ESSER III

The table below shows the total amount of ESSER III funding allocated to each district in Utah.

Utah ESSER III allocation by district
District name Total ESSER III allocation
Alpine School District $56,134,139
American Academy of Innovation $35,129
American Leadership Academy $1,547,252
American Preparatory (Utah Charter Academies Inc) $4,732,096
Ascent Academies of Utah $955,880
Athenian eAcademy $355,534
Athlos Academies $116,552
Bear River Charter School $120,982
Beaver Co School District $941,689
Beehive Science and Technology Academy $255,091
Bonneville Academy $322,896
Box Elder Co School District $7,305,205
C.S. Lewis Academy $488,670
Cache Co School District $10,443,543
Canyon Grove (Quail Run Primary School Foundation) $316,176
Canyon Rim Academy $51,193
Canyons School District $21,794,378
Carbon Co School District $4,337,382
Center For Creativity Innovation And Discovery $248,926
Channing Hall $87,696
City Academy $236,312
Davinci Academy of Science and The Arts $1,105,467
Davis Co School District $42,463,789
Dual Immersion Academy $1,014,131
Duchesne Co School District $3,003,409
Early Light Academy $119,785
Emery School District $1,806,827
Endeavor Hall $616,712
Entheos Academy $1,276,203
Esperanza Elementary (Generacion Floreciente) $885,002
Excelsior Academy $445,967
Franklin Discovery Academy Vineyard $309,570
Freedom Academy $1,319,492
Garfield Co School District $804,672
Gateway Preparatory Academy $1,007,253
George Washington Academy $511,439
Grand Co School District $1,972,523
Granite School District $97,470,240
Greenwood Charter School $482,934
Guadalupe School Salt Lake City School Dist $663,044
Hawthorn Academy $733,120
Highmark Charter School $98,698
Intech Collegiate Academy $83,224
Iron Co School District $13,539,712
Itineris Early College High School $215,483
Jefferson Academy $274,603
Jordan School District $24,953,119
Juab School District $1,943,782
Kane Co School District $1,085,085
Lakeview Academy $142,656
Leadership Learning Academy $995,896
Lincoln Academy Incorporated $157,185
Logan City School District $11,215,457
Maria Montessori Academy $329,741
Millard School District $2,944,575
Moab Charter School $94,179
Monticello Academy Inc $711,581
Morgan School District $416,771
Mountain View Montessori $363,198
Mountain West Montessori Academy $58,864
Murray School District $4,755,350
Navigator Pointe Academy $114,319
Nebo School District $19,639,747
Noah Webster Academy Inc $524,272
North Davis Preparatory Academy $565,625
North Sanpete School District $2,873,489
North Star Academy $40,207
North Summit School District $561,380
Ogden City School District $26,828,098
Ogden Preparatory Academy $1,648,244
Open Classroom Charter School $212,031
Pacific Heritage Academy $578,884
Park City School District $1,724,914
Pinnacle Canyon Academy $847,812
Piute School District $503,613
Promontory School of Expeditionary Learning $336,649
Providence Hall $299,919
Provo School District $19,493,291
Quest Academy $376,971
Ronald Wilson Reagan Academy $462,223
Roots Charter High School $174,963
Salt Lake Arts Academy $58,082
Salt Lake School For Performing Arts $121,218
San Juan School District $6,450,130
Scholar Academy $471,890
Sevier School District $4,565,154
SL Center For Science Education $406,742
SLC School District $39,968,811
South Sanpete School District $2,903,391
South Summit School District $283,672
Spectrum Academy $720,180
Success Academy $199,736
Summit Academy High School $80,122
Summit Academy Incorporated $458,491
Syracuse Arts Academy Inc $989,912
Terra Academy $390,930
Tooele School District $7,574,657
Treeside Charter School $422,959
Uintah School District $5,323,816
USU Edith Bowen Lab School $175,933
Utah Arts Academy $227,016
Utah Connections Academy $897,209
Utah International Charter School $518,251
Utah Military Academy $522,573
Utah Virtual Academy $2,720,711
Valley Academy Charter $526,130
Vanguard Academy Inc $687,344
Vista At Entrada Inc $615,691
Voyage Academy $343,428
Walden School $480,653
Wallace Stegner Academy $1,091,897
Wasatch Peak Academy $85,561
Wasatch School District $2,912,070
Wasatch Waldorf Charter School $79,768
Washington Co School Dist $35,689,726
Wayne School District $800,427
Weber Co School District $19,516,598

ESSER allocations by state

Click a state below to see a detailed breakdown of ESSER allocations by district in each state.

History of ESSER

Throughout Spring 2020, all 50 states shuttered K-12 public schools to in-person learning. In most states, students would not return to classrooms for the remainder of the academic year. Congress allocated roughly $190 billion to schools between March 2020 and March 2021 through three rounds of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund grants.[9]

Congress also allocated about 10% of ESSER funding—or about $19 billion—to state education agencies.[10]

Each tranche of ESSER funding came with its own deadline. States had until September 30 to commit money they received in the third round (ARP Act) of ESSER funding—unless they requested and received an extension.[11] Districts were required to have spent the funds by the end of January 2025 (though they could request an extension from the federal government).[12]

According to the U.S. Department of Education, “These Federal emergency resources are available for a wide range of activities to address diverse needs arising from or exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, or to emerge stronger post-pandemic, including responding to students’ social, emotional, mental health, and academic needs and continuing to provide educational services as States, LEAs, and schools respond to and recover from the pandemic.”[13]

Districts, already facing declining public school enrollment, grappled with the loss of billions of dollars in federal aid as ESSER funds expired.[14] To put the loss in perspective, in 2019, the last year before Congress began allocating ESSER grants, the federal government spent a total of $57.9 billion on K-12 public schools—less than a third of what Congress allocated to schools through ESSER.[15]

A 2023 Education Next analysis of 22 states found that districts had spent about half of the money on labor costs, which could include new hires and raises for existing personnel.[16] A December 2023 Education Week survey of 250 district leaders found that a quarter of respondents said they didn’t anticipate finding alternative funding to cover ongoing expenses made with ESSER grants.[17]

Some districts announced staff and teacher layoffs due to losing ESSER funds.[18][19][20] Districts also cut expenses in other ways, including ending after-school programs, tutoring services, and more.[21][22]

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Footnotes

  1. U.S. Department of Education, "ESSER Fund Cover Letter," accessed June 13, 2025
  2. The 74, "ESSER Post-Mortem: How Did Districts Spend $190B in Federal Funds? Did It Work?" June 29, 2025
  3. Intercultural Development Research Association, "How Schools Will Be Impacted by the End of Federal COVID-19 Relief Funding," October 8, 2024
  4. District Administration, "Learning loss can still be overcome with ESSER," August 15, 2024
  5. Brookings, "The ESSER fiscal cliff will have serious implications for student equity," September 12, 2023
  6. Intercultural Development Research Association, "How Schools Will Be Impacted by the End of Federal COVID-19 Relief Funding," October 8, 2024
  7. McKinsey & Company, "When the money runs out: K–12 schools brace for stimulus-free budgets," September 18, 2024
  8. Edunomics Lab,"ESSER Expenditure Dashboard," accessed June 29, 2025
  9. K-12 Dive, "ESSER funding: What it is and how to use it before it expires," February 21, 2023
  10. CCSSO, "States Leading: How State Education Agencies Leveraged Pandemic Relief Funds," accessed February 4, 2025
  11. New America, "Size: More Money Than Ever Before," accessed February 4, 2025
  12. School Superintendents Assocation, "The Advocate March 2024: ESSER Late Liquidation," March 8, 2024
  13. U.S. Department of Education, "Frequently Asked Questions," May 2021
  14. Brookings, "Breaking down enrollment declines in public schools," March 14, 2024
  15. United States Census, "K-12 School Spending Up 4.7% in 2019 From Previous Year," May 18, 2021
  16. Education Next, "The Massive ESSER Experiment: Here’s what we’re learning.," April 4, 2023
  17. Education Week, "When ESSER Funds Are Gone, Here’s Where Districts May Turn to Fill Gaps," December 5, 2023
  18. NBC DFW, "Arlington ISD faces layoffs with COVID-era ESSER grants coming to an end," March 25, 2024
  19. K-12 Dive, "Teacher layoffs are growing — and won’t be going away anytime soon," March 26, 2024
  20. CT Insider, "Hartford school board approves $429 million budget with staffing cuts across the district," April 18, 2024
  21. Chalkbeat, "Many schools want to keep tutoring going when COVID money is gone. How will they pay for it?" February 1, 2024
  22. KOSU, "The end of pandemic-era federal dollars may mean the end of some Oklahoma school programs," April 18, 2024