The School Board’s Role in ESSER Fund Purchasing

School boards serve in the critical role of providing oversight of district operations and ensuring compliance with local, state and federal laws. The American Rescue Plan (ARP) Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) allocated significant amounts of emergency funding to support education recovery. School districts and their boards have invested time and research into making decisions about how to best allocate the use of these funds to serve students and the school community, but what should school boards know about the purchasing processes for these funds? Join us to learn more about the board’s role in understanding purchasing requirements, how these funds are different from other federal funds, what boards should know about auditing federal funds, and provisions to be aware of in cooperative purchasing and approving contracts. 

Questions about registration can be directed to Jo Mundis, legal services coordinator at jo.mundis@psba.org.  

Presenters: 

• Heather Masshardt, PSBA director of policy services  
• Ryan T. Gonder, Esq., McNees Wallace & Nurick 

Learn more about presenters

Moderators: 

• Stuart Knade, PSBA chief legal officer 

Registration: 

Registration for this event is closed.