Federal Funds in Hand

The Willow Springs R-IV School Board approved a final budget for Elementary and Secondary Education Emergency Relief Funds (ESSER III) at their regular March meeting on March 14. The district received “slightly more” money than they were expecting, said School Board President Tony Friga. The budget available is $3,429,489. 

Friga said the “most exciting” project the school district will undertake with the funding is a complete renovation of the middle school building’s HVAC system. 

“It’s something we have needed to do forever, since before I started [on the school board],” Friga told Howell County News. 

The middle school building is nearly 100 years old, and the new HVAC system will be a “huge benefit…to keep it up and functioning,” Friga said. 

The HVAC project will cost the lion’s share of the ESSER III award. It is expected to cost approximately $1.7 million.

Other budgeted projects approved Monday night include about $770,000 on learning loss and $70,000 on science instructional materials for the middle school. 

With the remaining funds, the hope is to add additional classroom space with an additional weight room in the area of Munford Gymnasium, Friga said. 

These items in this budget passed by a unanimous motion in the school board meeting, but can be amended in the future, Friga confirmed.