Putnam Co. Schools Receives Grant To Cover Optional COVID Screening In Schools

The Putnam County School System received a new $3.1 million ESSER grant for Epidemiology and Lab Capacity.

The one-time grant will be used for optional COVID testing and screening for faculty, staff and students. Federal Program Supervisor Bridgett Carwile said it’s beneficial to have this tool.

“It’s a resource that we might have available if a parent so chooses,” Carwile said. “Let’s say they don’t want to pay a co-pay for example, they can just say ‘Hey can you run that test on them,’ Okay but you’re going to have to come and be present, which is fine. So they come and be present, we run the test if that’s what they want.”

Carwile said some construction will need to occur to upgrade nursing clinics. Carwile said this grant could cover those upgrades if spent in the next year.

Director of Schools Corby King said that the funds could potentially cover nurse and guidance counselor salaries as well in a presentation to the Putnam County budget sub-committee last Thursday. King said pending school board approval, this could provide the option to move almost $3 million in the general purpose fund to the capital projects fund.

“Because it’s an allowable [expense],” King said. “So when we do that and when I say that, those nurses and those guidance counselors will go right back into our operating budget next year.”

Carwile said the next steps will likely come after the budget is finalized. Because the grant is one-time funding, Carwile said they’re taking extra care to make sure the money will be spent in accordance with the stipulations.

“Anytime you get one time funding, there are strings attached to it, hoops we have to jump through,” Carwile said. “So we want to make sure we’re doing everything legally and jumping through the hoops we’re supposed to jump through.”

Carwile said they hope to get initial funding beginning in July.