Spokane County issued the following announcement on Sept. 30.
Spokane County Board of Commissioners unanimously voted in favor of providing up to $2,700,000 from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding to purchase and distribute Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to regional schools.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by the President on March 27, 2020. The over $2 trillion economic relief package provides economic assistance for American workers, families, and small businesses, and preserves jobs for American industries. Funding from the CARES Act was received by Spokane County and other municipalities in the region. Spokane County received $91,224,219.50 from the CARES Act.
The allocation of PPE to regional schools is a collaborative effort between Spokane County staff, ESD 101 and each school. Products to be distributed include, but are not limited to, cloth and disposable masks, hand sanitizer, gloves, free standing Plexiglas barriers, KN95 and N95 masks, and disposable sanitizing wipes.
Spokane County will manage the program and provide storage and delivery, thereby relieving schools of additional cost, time and resources. This is a fully supportive program intended to help supply PPE needs through the 2020-2021 school year. Communications, including information about ordering and timing of delivery will be shared with each school in the coming days and weeks. Any school that has not worked with the County is urged to reach out and discuss forecasted PPE needs for the school year by first contacting PPEInfo@SpokaneCounty.org.
Chair of the Spokane County Board of Commissioners, Al French stated, “This funding will help all of our public and private schools with the important mission of providing a safe environment for our youth as we continue our journey to recovery for this community.”
Superintendent of Northeast Washington Educational Service District 101, Michael Dunn, stated, “Navigating the myriad of challenges of COVID-19 continues to be difficult for all sectors of society, including education. This ongoing effort reinforces the importance of teamwork and working together and, inasmuch, the schools in our region – and their students and staff – are deeply appreciative of the opportunity to work with, and be provided support from, Spokane County through the provision of CARES dollars to cover the cost of needed personal protective equipment.”
Original source can be found here.
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