Wake County Schools

Parents shelling out cash to add COVID-19 safety in classrooms while millions in federal funds are unspent

Parents across Wake County Public Schools are paying out of their own pockets to have a little added peace of mind when it comes to COVID-19 safety in their children's classrooms. They're doing this while hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding meant for pandemic relief in schools is unspent.

Posted Updated

By
Matt Talhelm
, WRAL reporter
RALEIGH, N.C. — Parents of students in many Wake County public schools are paying out of their own pockets to have a little added peace of mind when it comes to COVID-19 safety in their children's classrooms. They're doing this while millions of dollars in federal funding meant for pandemic relief in schools is unspent.

Parents at Douglas Elementary School in Raleigh pooled their own money to buy air purifiers for a couple classrooms, while other have created online fundraisers.

Now, parents are organizing to demand the school system put more of its money into COVID-19 safety.

Justin Parisi said he and other parents spent around $500 to put an air purifier system inside a third grade classroom at Douglas Elementary School.

"I started an initiative with our class. Basically, I wanted to make sure they were protected," said Parisi.

Classroom collections for COVID-19 safety are popping up in schools across Wake County. In a newsletter for Buckhorn Creek Elementary in Holly Springs, parents were shown a $750 air purifier they could purchase for their child's classroom.

"I'm just trying to get her as safe as possible where she is. I was trying to figure out, well, do I just donate to one because I want my child to be safe," said parent Rebecca Schuster. "It's the parents that are trying to bridge that gap, and it's so sad for the schools that might not be able to bridge the gap."

One GoFundMe campaign is trying to raise more than $10,000 to buy air purifiers for every classroom at Penny Road Elementary. Parents at Lead Mine Elementary set a $4,000 goal.

"Schools in the county that don't have those resources are going to be left out in the cold," said parent Rebecca Schuster. "They're not going to be able to protect their children in the same way."

WRAL News obtained totals from the North Carolina Department of Instruction that show 87 percent of the federal funding for designated for pandemic relief in school has yet to be spent in Cumberland and Durham counties. Johnston and Orange still have 79 percent left to spend, and 89 percent of stimulus spending is available in Wake County.

"Delta [variant] is so contagious. That's what this money is for," said Schuster. "Where is this money? Why is it incumbent on the parents to keep our kids safe?"

A spokesperson for the school district said about $6.8 million from the three rounds of federal stimulus has been used to buy iPads, disinfectants, hand sanitizers, dispensers, an interactive reading program and Chromebooks.

"The money is there, and what it comes down to, I think, is the agreement on what needs to be done," said Parisi.

Another reason for the delay is that North Carolina is still waiting for the U.S. Department of Education to approve the third round of stimulus money.

"Ultimately, we want to make sure all of the children are protected adequately, not just a select few because the parents can afford it," said Parisi.

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