Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) allocation and expenditures by district in Vermont
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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 Vermont'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 Vermont.
| Vermont ESSER I allocation and expenditures by district | |
|---|---|
| District Name | Total ESSER I Allocation |
| Achievement School District | $55,198,035 |
| Alamo | $906,336 |
| Alcoa | $2,146,025 |
| Anderson County | $11,704,958 |
| Arlington | $6,592,510 |
| Athens | $5,323,861 |
| Bartlett | $17,630,335 |
| Bedford County | $15,927,412 |
| Bells | $781,011 |
| Benton County | $5,955,622 |
| Bledsoe County | $5,028,192 |
| Blount County | $16,921,352 |
| Bradford | $686,523 |
| Bradley County | $15,709,701 |
| Bristol | $8,331,451 |
| Campbell County | $15,824,277 |
| Cannon County | $3,595,827 |
| Carter County | $15,034,318 |
| Cheatham County | $6,216,226 |
| Chester County | $4,871,721 |
| Claiborne County | $11,595,630 |
| Clay County | $3,266,979 |
| Cleveland | $12,177,478 |
| Clinton | $1,514,886 |
| Cocke County | $15,192,005 |
| Coffee County | $8,370,809 |
| Collierville | $16,014,595 |
| Crockett County | $3,233,191 |
| Cumberland County | $15,137,618 |
| Davidson County | $276,736,466 |
| Dayton | $2,490,367 |
| Decatur County | $3,578,825 |
| DeKalb County | $6,694,580 |
| Dickson County | $13,378,147 |
| Dyer County | $6,205,462 |
| Dyersburg | $8,982,227 |
| Elizabethton | $5,659,315 |
| Etowah | $949,117 |
| Fayette County Public Schools | $8,989,216 |
| Fayetteville | $2,723,227 |
| Fentress County | $6,738,404 |
| Franklin County | $9,769,108 |
| Franklin SSD | $2,974,298 |
| Germantown | $11,307,498 |
| Gibson Co Sp Dist | $3,539,429 |
| Giles County | $7,695,741 |
| Grainger County | $7,397,160 |
| Greene County | $14,723,891 |
| Greeneville | $4,578,492 |
| Grundy County | $5,307,676 |
| Hamblen County | $20,173,062 |
| Hamilton County | $91,025,240 |
| Hancock County | $4,238,451 |
| Hardeman County Schools | $9,460,325 |
| Hardin County | $9,169,588 |
| Hawkins County | $16,401,088 |
| Haywood County | $7,397,302 |
| Henderson County | $6,736,663 |
| Henry County | $7,863,862 |
| Hickman County | $7,854,126 |
| Hollow Rock - Bruceton | $1,788,500 |
| Houston County | $2,702,786 |
| Humboldt City Schools | $4,435,286 |
| Humphreys County | $5,044,204 |
| Huntingdon Special School District | $3,048,352 |
| Jackson County | $3,920,690 |
| Jefferson County | $14,091,304 |
| Johnson City | $13,881,918 |
| Johnson County | $5,994,514 |
| Kingsport | $17,075,503 |
| Knox County | $114,112,118 |
| Lake County | $3,322,311 |
| Lakeland | $2,854,317 |
| Lauderdale County | $13,389,602 |
| Lawrence County | $15,665,884 |
| Lebanon | $4,876,525 |
| Lenoir City | $2,919,288 |
| Lewis County | $4,215,961 |
| Lexington | $1,920,852 |
| Lincoln County | $5,849,762 |
| Loudon County | $6,785,149 |
| Macon County | $8,858,981 |
| Madison County | $37,688,296 |
| Manchester | $3,025,892 |
| Marion County | $8,085,680 |
| Marshall County | $8,164,943 |
| Maryville | $4,097,099 |
| Maury County | $18,181,046 |
| McKenzie | $2,500,584 |
| McMinn County | $11,226,447 |
| McNairy County | $9,360,830 |
| Meigs County | $4,022,324 |
| Milan | $3,516,984 |
| Millington Municipal Schools | $7,131,788 |
| Monroe County | $11,015,950 |
| Montgomery County | $58,471,762 |
| Moore County | $964,716 |
| Morgan County | $6,526,608 |
| Murfreesboro | $12,671,280 |
| Newport | $4,537,926 |
| Oak Ridge | $7,008,670 |
| Obion County | $5,838,276 |
| Oneida | $2,373,089 |
| Overton County | $6,214,575 |
| Paris | $4,395,905 |
| Perry County | $3,320,067 |
| Pickett County | $1,358,273 |
| Polk County | $4,737,913 |
| Putnam County | $20,676,390 |
| Rhea County | $9,729,742 |
| Richard City | $578,681 |
| Roane County | $13,259,578 |
| Robertson County | $14,762,183 |
| Rogersville | $1,871,172 |
| Rutherford County | $43,774,580 |
| Scott County | $7,987,379 |
| Sequatchie County | $4,979,360 |
| Sevier County | $27,523,342 |
| Shelby County | $503,145,853 |
| Smith County | $4,919,156 |
| South Carroll | $865,882 |
| Stewart County | $3,648,495 |
| Sullivan County | $20,610,150 |
| Sumner County | $31,463,482 |
| Sweetwater | $3,034,329 |
| Tipton County | $17,841,500 |
| Trenton | $2,882,182 |
| Trousdale County | $2,156,722 |
| Tullahoma | $7,077,372 |
| Unicoi County | $4,691,566 |
| Union City | $5,047,860 |
| Union County | $7,923,594 |
| Van Buren County | $2,059,494 |
| Warren County | $18,725,992 |
| Washington County | $11,963,190 |
| Wayne County | $4,803,019 |
| Weakley County | $8,694,050 |
| West Carroll Sp Dist | $2,331,749 |
| White County | $8,746,590 |
| Williamson County | $5,222,354 |
| Wilson County | $12,554,040 |
ESSER II
The table below shows the total amount of ESSER II funding allocated to each district in Vermont.
| Vermont ESSER II allocation and expenditures by district | |
|---|---|
| District Name | Total ESSER II Allocation |
| Addison Central School District | $1,497,016 |
| Addison Northwest School District | $747,090 |
| Barre UUSD | $4,668,449 |
| Battenkill Valley Supervisory Union | $0 |
| Bennington Rutland Supervisory Union | $1,531,299 |
| Burlington School District | $6,135,832 |
| Caledonia Central Supervisory Union | $1,823,164 |
| Central Vermont Supervisory Union | $1,312,619 |
| Champlain Valley School District | $1,942,692 |
| Colchester School District | $1,611,292 |
| Elmore-Morristown Unified Union School District | $2,136,962 |
| Essex North Supervisory Union | $1,085,594 |
| Essex-Westford Educational Community Unified Union School District | $2,205,527 |
| Franklin Northeast Supervisory Union | $2,674,059 |
| Franklin West Supervisory Union | $971,346 |
| Grand Isle Supervisory Union | $1,255,621 |
| Greater Rutland County Supervisory Union | $1,622,720 |
| Hartford School District | $985,088 |
| Harwood Unified Union School District | $1,367,018 |
| Kingdom East Unified Union School District | $2,885,608 |
| Lamoille North Supervisory Union | $2,152,074 |
| Maple Run Unified School District | $3,816,819 |
| Mill River Unified Union School District | $700,186 |
| Milton School District | $1,245,609 |
| Missisquoi Valley School District | $3,531,129 |
| Montpelier Roxbury School District | $994,198 |
| Mountain Views Supervisory Union (prev. Windsor Central Supervisory Union) | $1,199,898 |
| Mt. Abraham Unified School District | $1,302,747 |
| Mt. Mansfield Union School District | $396,793 |
| North Country Supervisory Union | $4,350,029 |
| Norwich School District | $91,421 |
| Orange East Supervisory Union | $2,959,528 |
| Orange Southwest Unified Union School District | $1,265,586 |
| Orleans Central Supervisory Union | $3,787,212 |
| Orleans Southwest Supervisory Union | $1,485,588 |
| Rivendell Interstate School District | $479,959 |
| Rutland City School District | $4,712,384 |
| Rutland Northeast Supervisory Union | $2,205,527 |
| Slate Valley Modified Unified Union School District | $1,828,347 |
| South Burlington School District | $1,382,740 |
| Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union | $7,575,844 |
| Springfield School District | $3,222,584 |
| St. Johnsbury School District | $3,336,529 |
| Two Rivers Supervisory Union | $1,302,647 |
| Washington Central UUSD | $1,108,477 |
| White River Valley Supervisory Union | $1,622,720 |
| Windham Central Supervisory Union | $994,201 |
| Windham Northeast Supervisory Union | $5,828,077 |
| Windham Southeast Supervisory Union | $4,262,496 |
| Windham Southwest Supervisory Union | $665,683 |
| Windsor Southeast Supervisory Union | $1,165,615 |
| Winooski School District | $3,303,949 |
ESSER III
The table below shows the total amount of ESSER III funding allocated to each district in Vermont.
| Vermont ESSER III allocation and expenditures by district | |
|---|---|
| District Name | Total ESSER III Allocation |
| Addison Central School District | $3,356,524 |
| Addison Northwest School District | $1,621,085 |
| Barre UUSD | $10,361,160 |
| Battenkill Valley Supervisory Union | $0 |
| Bennington Rutland Supervisory Union | $3,444,580 |
| Burlington School District | $9,942,428 |
| Caledonia Central Supervisory Union | $3,857,747 |
| Central Vermont Supervisory Union | $2,985,102 |
| Champlain Valley School District | $4,352,660 |
| Colchester School District | $3,609,015 |
| Elmore-Morristown Unified Union School District | $4,457,192 |
| Essex North Supervisory Union | $2,124,465 |
| Essex-Westford Educational Community Unified Union School District | $4,960,750 |
| Franklin Northeast Supervisory Union | $6,014,946 |
| Franklin West Supervisory Union | $2,163,719 |
| Grand Isle Supervisory Union | $2,770,334 |
| Greater Rutland County Supervisory Union | $3,646,297 |
| Hartford School District | $2,092,354 |
| Harwood Unified Union School District | $3,111,680 |
| Kingdom East Unified Union School District | $7,175,748 |
| Lamoille North Supervisory Union | $5,060,866 |
| Maple Run Unified School District | $8,575,662 |
| Mill River Unified Union School District | $1,556,031 |
| Milton School District | $2,807,033 |
| Missisquoi Valley School District | $7,920,357 |
| Montpelier Roxbury School District | $2,230,859 |
| Mountain Views Supervisory Union (prev. Windsor Central Supervisory Union) | $2,688,763 |
| Mt. Abraham Unified School District | $2,915,837 |
| Mt. Mansfield Union School District | $886,076 |
| North Country Supervisory Union | $9,956,638 |
| Norwich School District | $187,115 |
| Orange East Supervisory Union | $6,414,465 |
| Orange Southwest Unified Union School District | $2,693,739 |
| Orleans Central Supervisory Union | $8,293,401 |
| Orleans Southwest Supervisory Union | $3,105,864 |
| Rivendell Interstate School District | $1,088,511 |
| Rutland City School District | $11,157,965 |
| Rutland Northeast Supervisory Union | $4,958,268 |
| Slate Valley Modified Unified Union School District | $4,094,916 |
| South Burlington School District | $3,104,131 |
| Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union | $16,920,307 |
| Springfield School District | $7,245,902 |
| St. Johnsbury School District | $7,492,974 |
| Two Rivers Supervisory Union | $2,917,045 |
| Washington Central UUSD | $2,480,636 |
| White River Valley Supervisory Union | $3,612,370 |
| Windham Central Supervisory Union | $2,240,792 |
| Windham Northeast Supervisory Union | $12,475,307 |
| Windham Southeast Supervisory Union | $9,584,003 |
| Windham Southwest Supervisory Union | $1,738,960 |
| Windsor Southeast Supervisory Union | $2,548,763 |
| Winooski School District | $7,348,930 |
ESSER allocations by state
Click a state below to see a detailed breakdown of ESSER allocations by district in each state.
- ESSER hub page
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
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
- ↑ U.S. Department of Education, "ESSER Fund Cover Letter," accessed June 13, 2025
- ↑ The 74, "ESSER Post-Mortem: How Did Districts Spend $190B in Federal Funds? Did It Work?" June 29, 2025
- ↑ Intercultural Development Research Association, "How Schools Will Be Impacted by the End of Federal COVID-19 Relief Funding," October 8, 2024
- ↑ District Administration, "Learning loss can still be overcome with ESSER," August 15, 2024
- ↑ Brookings, "The ESSER fiscal cliff will have serious implications for student equity," September 12, 2023
- ↑ Intercultural Development Research Association, "How Schools Will Be Impacted by the End of Federal COVID-19 Relief Funding," October 8, 2024
- ↑ McKinsey & Company, "When the money runs out: K–12 schools brace for stimulus-free budgets," September 18, 2024
- ↑ Edunomics Lab,"ESSER Expenditure Dashboard," accessed June 29, 2025
- ↑ K-12 Dive, "ESSER funding: What it is and how to use it before it expires," February 21, 2023
- ↑ CCSSO, "States Leading: How State Education Agencies Leveraged Pandemic Relief Funds," accessed February 4, 2025
- ↑ New America, "Size: More Money Than Ever Before," accessed February 4, 2025
- ↑ School Superintendents Assocation, "The Advocate March 2024: ESSER Late Liquidation," March 8, 2024
- ↑ U.S. Department of Education, "Frequently Asked Questions," May 2021
- ↑ Brookings, "Breaking down enrollment declines in public schools," March 14, 2024
- ↑ United States Census, "K-12 School Spending Up 4.7% in 2019 From Previous Year," May 18, 2021
- ↑ Education Next, "The Massive ESSER Experiment: Here’s what we’re learning.," April 4, 2023
- ↑ Education Week, "When ESSER Funds Are Gone, Here’s Where Districts May Turn to Fill Gaps," December 5, 2023
- ↑ NBC DFW, "Arlington ISD faces layoffs with COVID-era ESSER grants coming to an end," March 25, 2024
- ↑ K-12 Dive, "Teacher layoffs are growing — and won’t be going away anytime soon," March 26, 2024
- ↑ CT Insider, "Hartford school board approves $429 million budget with staffing cuts across the district," April 18, 2024
- ↑ Chalkbeat, "Many schools want to keep tutoring going when COVID money is gone. How will they pay for it?" February 1, 2024
- ↑ KOSU, "The end of pandemic-era federal dollars may mean the end of some Oklahoma school programs," April 18, 2024
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