With federal grants expiring, Bloomfield Hills School district weighs tuition for summer programs
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Summary
District staff told trustees that ESSER and related pandemic-era funds that subsidized summer school and tutoring are expiring; the board discussed a tuition model (example: five weeks/15 sessions at $700) for K–8 programming, distinctions with ESY (special-education extended-year services), and follow-up requests for enrollment and utilization data.
Trustees at the March 25 meeting were told that federal pandemic-era funds (ESSER and related "23 gs" funds) that previously subsidized summer-school and tutoring programming have largely expired. District staff presented a tuition-based option for K–8 summer offerings (example in committee materials: 5 weeks/15 sessions at $700) and said tutoring supports funded by grants may or may not be replaced by new state grants.
Why it matters: The expiration of one-time federal grants forces the district to choose between cutting offerings, shifting costs to families, or identifying alternative subsidies. Trustees asked for clearer participation numbers and for options to ensure access for families eligible for free or reduced-price meals.
District staff explained that ESY (Extended School Year services for students with individualized education plans) is funded from the general fund and is separate from the tutoring/extended-day services previously subsidized by ESSER. Staff said some tutoring and credit-recovery services at the secondary level continue to be covered by other grants, while K–8 academic summer options may need tuition to remain sustainable.
Trustees and administrators discussed partnership options and external scholarships: Bloomfield Youth Assistance (BYA) was recommended as a local source of scholarships that families can pursue; the district has also used its food-service contact list to notify families who agreed to receive opportunity notices.
Next steps: Trustees requested detailed enrollment and utilization numbers for the tutoring and extended-day services (committee notes referenced an elementary-level participation total of 217), clarification about which grant lines remain, and further analysis of potential financial-assistance pathways for families on limited incomes.
Provenance: The extended-day and summer-programming discussion is recorded from the curriculum-and-instruction committee update (topic intro: SEG 091) through the board’s follow-up requests for participation numbers and scholarship outreach (topic finish: SEG 536).
