Harris County School District to receive $5.2M from American Rescue Plan

HARRIS COUNTY, Ga. (WTVM) - The Harris County School District is one out of 12 other Georgia school districts within the Chattahoochee Valley that will receive a large sum of money from the American Rescue Plan afforded y the Biden administration.

In total, Harris County will receive $5.2 million from this federal funding.

Shelia Baker, Harris County assistant superintendent, says the purpose of the money is to help its facility and enhance the quality of learning for students as the pandemic continues.

“This will give us an opportunity to offer some extended year programs for our students, like summer enrichment programs or perhaps after school tutorial programs,” said Baker. “We can actually hire additional personnel now to support our students in the classroom, like paraprofessionals. We are also looking at hiring instructional coaches who will be able to provide support to our teachers.”

Another level of support, specifically for Georgia teachers and school staff, is a $1,000 bonus on their paychecks. Baker estimates Harris County will see the bonus in mid-April. The bonus was promised by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp during his state of the state speech.

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