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NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The most expensive of 71 funding proposals for federal COVID-19 relief money being held by the Charleston County School District would target several North Charleston schools.
The organizations are all vying for a piece of the district’s Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds from the federal government. The Coastal Community Foundation’s Reimagine Schools proposal, which would cost $32 million over 10 years, falls second to a proposal from the Charity Foundation, which seeks $43 million from the district over just three years.
The foundation’s plan would turn eight North Charleston schools into full-service community hubs for students and their families. Along with providing healthcare and transportation assistance, the proposal would bring internet service to 4,300 students and even provide $1.5 million for students to attend the Freedom Road Tour. The proposal works by connecting community partners with schools. Several of those partners also have their own ESSER 3 proposals, so they would effectively be “double-dipping.”
All 71 proposals were released Thursday, including smaller proposals like “Begin with Books,” the local chapter of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which provides books to students in poverty.
“Sixty-one percent of children in poverty have no books in their home,” Begin with Books spokesman Nell Killoy said. “That’s an issue because we know that just getting books into a children’s home, reading with a child during those formative years, 0-5 is the most impactful way to make sure your child succeeds when they get to school.”
Begin with Books is looking for $1.7 million over three years to expand their current programing with the district.
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