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

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This page includes information and data on federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding in Alabama. ESSER was a series of grants totaling roughly $190 billion that Congress sent to K-12 public schools during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. All 50 states closed schools to in-person instruction at some point during the 2019-2020 academic year.

Congress included the funding in three separate spending packages between 2020 and 2021. 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]

On this page, you will find data on the funding Congress allocated to Alabama's school districts through the three ESSER grants (I, II, and III). Data is made available by Georgetown University's Edunomics Lab.[2] Navigate the page using the following links:

Background

At the time, the $190 billion was the largest injection of federal funding into the education system in a one-year period.[3] The first of the three ESSER packages was created 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. 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.[4]

Congress placed few conditions on the grants, largely relying on districts to make their own spending decisions.[5] The exception to this was that Congress required districts to spend 20% of their ESSER III funds addressing “the academic impact of lost instructional time through the implementation of evidence-based interventions.”[6] Districts spent the funding in a variety of ways, including on afterschool programming, tutoring, professional development for teachers, mobile hotspots and other technologies, upgrading heating and air conditioning systems, and building new schools.[7]

Districts also reported using the funding to hire school psychologists, new teachers, custodians, and math specialists.[7] Some districts reported hiring contractors out of a concern about paying for permanent positions after the ESSER funding expired.[7] 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.[8] 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."[9]


ESSER I

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

Alabama ESSER I allocation and expenditures by district
District Name Total ESSER I Allocation
Al Inst Deaf And Blind $0
Alabama School of Cyber Technology and Engineering $0
Alabama School of Fine Arts $0
Alabama Youth Services $0
Alabaster City $760,652
Albertville City $1,747,271
Alexander City $923,917
Andalusia City $494,885
Anniston City $1,338,497
Arab City $308,573
Athens City $587,993
Attalla City $286,872
Auburn City $796,538
Autauga County $1,730,199
Baldwin County $5,132,014
Barbour County $905,034
Bessemer City $1,965,103
Bibb County $918,957
Birmingham City $13,149,896
Blount County $1,502,017
Boaz City $448,612
Breakthrough Charter School $0
Brewton City $362,308
Bullock County $854,843
Butler County $1,182,947
Calhoun County $1,710,680
Chambers County $1,172,086
Cherokee County $893,718
Chickasaw City $561,454
Chilton County $1,648,461
Choctaw County $588,657
Clarke County $1,132,960
Clay County $490,433
Cleburne County $509,906
Coffee County $501,858
Colbert County $774,111
Conecuh County $956,879
Coosa County $342,706
Covington County $763,136
Crenshaw County $604,030
Cullman City $537,506
Cullman County $1,953,471
Dale County $556,391
Daleville City $486,337
Dallas County $2,545,746
Decatur City $2,216,186
DeKalb County $2,916,078
Demopolis City $677,209
Dothan City $2,983,294
Elba City $226,764
Elmore County $2,000,732
Enterprise City $830,692
Escambia County $1,431,692
Etowah County $1,907,919
Eufaula City $966,380
Fairfield City $622,412
Fayette County $625,942
First Class $0
Florence City $1,183,993
Fort Payne City $714,768
Franklin County $905,922
Gadsden City $2,330,858
Geneva City $327,389
Geneva County $996,857
Greene County $865,628
Gulf Shores City $276,419
Guntersville City $330,636
Hale County $861,167
Haleyville City $348,953
Hartselle City $244,673
Henry County $660,012
Homewood City $278,183
Hoover City $867,669
Houston County $1,368,706
Huntsville City $6,508,409
i3 Academy $238,741
Jackson County $1,228,151
Jacksonville City $449,458
Jasper City $548,937
Jefferson County $6,974,757
Lamar County $550,114
Lanett City $512,430
Lauderdale County $1,228,308
Lawrence County $1,114,031
LEAD Academy $325,171
Lee County $1,858,826
Leeds City $308,043
Legacy Prep $235,106
LIFE Academy $0
Limestone County $1,601,323
Linden City $319,617
Lowndes County $1,313,052
Macon County $1,189,139
Madison City $579,197
Madison County $2,257,997
MAEF Public Charter Schools $110,111
Magic City Acceptance Academy $0
Marengo County $703,580
Marion County $1,013,279
Marshall County $2,305,061
Midfield City $351,859
Mobile County $23,330,966
Monroe County $1,205,425
Montgomery County $12,514,589
Morgan County $1,261,587
Mountain Brook City $0
Muscle Shoals City $270,768
Oneonta City $168,871
Opelika City $1,374,401
Opp City $532,752
Oxford City $732,935
Ozark City $824,673
Pelham City $272,884
Pell City $731,573
Perry County $955,173
Phenix City $2,074,444
Pickens County $945,008
Piedmont City $318,455
Pike County $783,291
Pike Road City $189,187
Randolph County $745,583
Roanoke City $319,327
Russell County $1,279,110
Russellville City $779,598
Saraland City $353,794
Satsuma City $194,237
Scottsboro City $439,843
Selma City $2,580,012
Sheffield City $484,544
Shelby County $1,794,063
St Clair County $1,352,227
Sumter County $888,730
Sylacauga City $581,373
Talladega City $778,286
Talladega County $1,770,957
Tallapoosa County $818,948
Tallassee City $286,397
Tarrant City $618,053
Thomasville City $251,323
Troy City $923,125
Trussville City $0
Tuscaloosa City $3,102,332
Tuscaloosa County $3,354,836
Tuscumbia City $265,207
University Charter School $243,176
Vestavia Hills City $0
Walker County $2,081,763
Washington County $690,806
Wilcox County $1,147,088
Winfield City $182,069
Winston County $539,513



ESSER II

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

Alabama ESSER II allocation and expenditures by district
District Name Total ESSER II Allocation
Al Inst Deaf And Blind $0
Alabama School of Cyber Technology and Engineering $0
Alabama School of Fine Arts $0
Alabama Youth Services $0
Alabaster City $2,885,917
Albertville City $7,054,441
Alexander City $3,725,361
Andalusia City $1,995,326
Anniston City $5,396,983
Arab City $1,147,176
Athens City $2,543,287
Attalla City $1,167,178
Auburn City $3,213,106
Autauga County $7,346,219
Baldwin County $20,155,297
Barbour County $3,532,435
Bessemer City $7,539,610
Bibb County $3,899,677
Birmingham City $53,018,277
Blount County $5,734,654
Boaz City $1,910,094
Breakthrough Charter School $0
Brewton City $1,461,639
Bullock County $4,019,980
Butler County $4,769,553
Calhoun County $6,897,336
Chambers County $4,728,254
Cherokee County $3,451,448
Chickasaw City $2,185,664
Chilton County $6,649,795
Choctaw County $2,643,933
Clarke County $4,553,130
Clay County $1,978,388
Cleburne County $2,056,898
Coffee County $2,792,785
Colbert County $2,826,586
Conecuh County $3,895,904
Coosa County $1,381,846
Covington County $3,077,089
Crenshaw County $2,526,018
Cullman City $2,045,238
Cullman County $7,876,896
Dale County $2,243,462
Daleville City $1,837,818
Dallas County $9,768,431
Decatur City $8,932,855
DeKalb County $11,835,916
Demopolis City $2,595,038
Dothan City $11,208,757
Elba City $869,421
Elmore County $7,971,595
Enterprise City $3,709,932
Escambia County $7,142,962
Etowah County $8,042,591
Eufaula City $6,216,040
Fairfield City $2,473,793
Fayette County $2,525,066
First Class $0
Florence City $4,509,518
Fort Payne City $2,882,052
Franklin County $3,654,447
Gadsden City $9,590,048
Geneva City $1,849,576
Geneva County $4,287,221
Greene County $3,319,901
Gulf Shores City $1,104,284
Guntersville City $1,374,856
Hale County $3,678,699
Haleyville City $1,646,554
Hartselle City $986,972
Henry County $2,677,008
Homewood City $1,038,386
Hoover City $3,500,241
Houston County $5,154,207
Huntsville City $26,325,487
i3 Academy $1,115,145
Jackson County $4,952,249
Jacksonville City $1,672,361
Jasper City $2,213,260
Jefferson County $29,585,275
Lamar County $2,080,296
Lanett City $2,067,350
Lauderdale County $4,290,552
Lawrence County $4,974,381
LEAD Academy $699,739
Lee County $9,895,564
Leeds City $1,166,153
Legacy Prep $378,663
LIFE Academy $0
Limestone County $6,792,436
Linden City $1,288,662
Lowndes County $5,041,477
Macon County $4,620,805
Madison City $2,350,355
Madison County $9,327,029
MAEF Public Charter Schools $592,009
Magic City Acceptance Academy $0
Marengo County $2,558,770
Marion County $4,087,596
Marshall County $10,181,170
Midfield City $1,418,747
Mobile County $101,104,574
Monroe County $4,598,974
Montgomery County $58,115,870
Morgan County $5,089,117
Mountain Brook City $0
Muscle Shoals City $1,022,891
Oneonta City $649,454
Opelika City $5,544,389
Opp City $2,131,052
Oxford City $2,955,316
Ozark City $3,325,205
Pelham City $1,132,702
Pell City $3,437,661
Perry County $3,977,758
Phenix City $9,954,973
Pickens County $3,787,895
Piedmont City $1,283,979
Pike County $3,130,784
Pike Road City $651,342
Randolph County $2,957,695
Roanoke City $1,293,980
Russell County $5,240,336
Russellville City $2,988,044
Saraland City $1,578,562
Satsuma City $783,194
Scottsboro City $1,774,273
Selma City $10,117,151
Sheffield City $1,858,906
Shelby County $7,109,936
St Clair County $4,836,161
Sumter County $3,585,296
Sylacauga City $2,109,778
Talladega City $3,583,539
Talladega County $6,864,258
Tallapoosa County $3,302,128
Tallassee City $1,154,726
Tarrant City $2,367,689
Thomasville City $1,021,771
Troy City $4,160,383
Trussville City $0
Tuscaloosa City $12,515,038
Tuscaloosa County $13,533,720
Tuscumbia City $966,391
University Charter School $492,948
Vestavia Hills City $0
Walker County $8,206,517
Washington County $2,827,339
Wilcox County $4,627,615
Winfield City $867,179
Winston County $2,513,354

ESSER III

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

Alabama ESSER III allocation and expenditures by district
District Name Total ESSER III Allocation
Al Inst Deaf And Blind $0
Alabama School of Cyber Technology and Engineering $0
Alabama School of Fine Arts $0
Alabama Youth Services $0
Alabaster City $6,486,037
Albertville City $15,854,709
Alexander City $8,372,672
Andalusia City $4,484,453
Anniston City $12,129,606
Arab City $2,578,255
Athens City $5,715,985
Attalla City $2,623,208
Auburn City $7,221,389
Autauga County $16,510,474
Baldwin County $45,298,607
Barbour County $7,939,074
Bessemer City $16,945,116
Bibb County $8,764,442
Birmingham City $119,157,463
Blount County $12,888,515
Boaz City $4,292,896
Breakthrough Charter School $0
Brewton City $3,285,004
Bullock County $9,034,821
Butler County $10,719,469
Calhoun County $15,501,617
Chambers County $10,626,651
Cherokee County $7,757,057
Chickasaw City $4,912,233
Chilton County $14,945,275
Choctaw County $5,942,183
Clarke County $10,233,064
Clay County $4,446,385
Cleburne County $4,622,835
Coffee County $6,276,725
Colbert County $6,352,694
Conecuh County $8,755,962
Coosa County $3,105,670
Covington County $6,915,692
Crenshaw County $5,677,173
Cullman City $4,596,629
Cullman County $17,703,157
Dale County $5,042,134
Daleville City $4,130,457
Dallas County $21,954,344
Decatur City $20,076,403
DeKalb County $26,600,972
Demopolis City $5,832,294
Dothan City $25,191,446
Elba City $1,954,005
Elmore County $17,915,992
Enterprise City $8,337,994
Escambia County $16,053,657
Etowah County $18,075,555
Eufaula City $13,970,420
Fairfield City $5,559,797
Fayette County $5,675,033
First Class $0
Florence City $10,135,046
Fort Payne City $6,477,351
Franklin County $8,213,292
Gadsden City $21,553,432
Geneva City $4,156,883
Geneva County $9,635,439
Greene County $7,461,407
Gulf Shores City $2,481,855
Guntersville City $3,089,961
Hale County $8,267,799
Haleyville City $3,700,596
Hartselle City $2,218,198
Henry County $6,016,518
Homewood City $2,333,750
Hoover City $7,866,717
Houston County $11,583,972
Huntsville City $59,165,978
i3 Academy $2,506,266
Jackson County $11,130,076
Jacksonville City $3,758,597
Jasper City $4,974,256
Jefferson County $66,492,284
Lamar County $4,675,422
Lanett City $4,646,326
Lauderdale County $9,642,926
Lawrence County $11,179,816
LEAD Academy $1,572,649
Lee County $22,240,072
Leeds City $2,620,905
Legacy Prep $851,036
LIFE Academy $0
Limestone County $15,265,858
Linden City $2,896,241
Lowndes County $11,330,613
Macon County $10,385,162
Madison City $5,282,373
Madison County $20,962,301
MAEF Public Charter Schools $1,330,528
Magic City Acceptance Academy $0
Marengo County $5,750,781
Marion County $9,186,787
Marshall County $22,881,966
Midfield City $3,188,604
Mobile County $227,230,396
Monroe County $10,336,098
Montgomery County $130,614,197
Morgan County $11,437,685
Mountain Brook City $0
Muscle Shoals City $2,298,925
Oneonta City $1,459,635
Opelika City $12,460,898
Opp City $4,789,495
Oxford City $6,642,011
Ozark City $7,473,329
Pelham City $2,545,724
Pell City $7,726,071
Perry County $8,939,929
Phenix City $22,373,592
Pickens County $8,513,215
Piedmont City $2,885,717
Pike County $7,036,370
Pike Road City $1,463,878
Randolph County $6,647,358
Roanoke City $2,908,193
Russell County $11,777,544
Russellville City $6,715,567
Saraland City $3,547,785
Satsuma City $1,760,212
Scottsboro City $3,987,641
Selma City $22,738,084
Sheffield City $4,177,852
Shelby County $15,979,432
St Clair County $10,869,170
Sumter County $8,057,877
Sylacauga City $4,741,682
Talladega City $8,053,927
Talladega County $15,427,275
Tallapoosa County $7,421,463
Tallassee City $2,595,222
Tarrant City $5,321,331
Thomasville City $2,296,410
Troy City $9,350,373
Trussville City $0
Tuscaloosa City $28,127,285
Tuscaloosa County $30,416,752
Tuscumbia City $2,171,944
University Charter School $1,107,889
Vestavia Hills City $0
Walker County $18,443,974
Washington County $6,354,385
Wilcox County $10,400,468
Winfield City $1,948,967
Winston County $5,648,710

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 did 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.[10]

Congress also allocated about 10% of ESSER funding — or about $19 billion — to state education agencies.[11]

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.[12] Districts were required to have spent the funds by the end of January 2025 (though they could request an extension from the federal government).[13]

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."[14]

Districts, already facing declining public school enrollment, grappled with the loss of billions of dollars in federal aid as ESSER funds expired.[15] 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.[16]

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.[17] 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.[18]

Some districts announced staff and teacher layoffs due to losing ESSER funds.[19][20][21] Districts also cut expenses in other ways, including ending after-school programs, tutoring services, and more.[22][23]

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See also

Footnotes

  1. U.S. Department of Education, "ESSER Fund Cover Letter," accessed June 13, 2025
  2. Edunomics Lab,"ESSER Expenditure Dashboard," accessed June 29, 2025
  3. The 74, "ESSER Post-Mortem: How Did Districts Spend $190B in Federal Funds? Did It Work?" June 29, 2025
  4. Intercultural Development Research Association, "How Schools Will Be Impacted by the End of Federal COVID-19 Relief Funding," October 8, 2024
  5. District Administration, "Learning loss can still be overcome with ESSER," August 15, 2024
  6. U.S. Department of Education, "Strategies for Using American Rescue Plan Funding to Address the Impact of Lost Instructional Time," accessed August 21, 2025
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 Government Accountability Office, "School Districts Reported Spending Initial COVID Relief Funds on Meeting Students' Needs and Continuing School Operations," accessed August 21, 2025
  8. Intercultural Development Research Association, "How Schools Will Be Impacted by the End of Federal COVID-19 Relief Funding," October 8, 2024
  9. McKinsey & Company, "When the money runs out: K–12 schools brace for stimulus-free budgets," September 18, 2024
  10. K-12 Dive, "ESSER funding: What it is and how to use it before it expires," February 21, 2023
  11. CCSSO, "States Leading: How State Education Agencies Leveraged Pandemic Relief Funds," accessed February 4, 2025
  12. New America, "Size: More Money Than Ever Before," accessed February 4, 2025
  13. School Superintendents Assocation, "The Advocate March 2024: ESSER Late Liquidation," March 8, 2024
  14. U.S. Department of Education, "Frequently Asked Questions," May 2021
  15. Brookings, "Breaking down enrollment declines in public schools," March 14, 2024
  16. United States Census, "K-12 School Spending Up 4.7% in 2019 From Previous Year," May 18, 2021
  17. Education Next, "The Massive ESSER Experiment: Here’s what we’re learning." April 4, 2023
  18. Education Week, "When ESSER Funds Are Gone, Here’s Where Districts May Turn to Fill Gaps," December 5, 2023
  19. NBC DFW, "Arlington ISD faces layoffs with COVID-era ESSER grants coming to an end," March 25, 2024
  20. K-12 Dive, "Teacher layoffs are growing — and won’t be going away anytime soon," March 26, 2024
  21. CT Insider, "Hartford school board approves $429 million budget with staffing cuts across the district," April 18, 2024
  22. Chalkbeat, "Many schools want to keep tutoring going when COVID money is gone. How will they pay for it?" February 1, 2024
  23. KOSU, "The end of pandemic-era federal dollars may mean the end of some Oklahoma school programs," April 18, 2024