Stories

Gower led a tour of a PPE storage warehouse in Oklahoma City’s Cox Convention Center on Tuesday with Gov. Kevin Stitt and State schools Superintendent Joy Hofmeister. State officials watched as a forklift operator loaded supplies into a truck headed for Edmond Public Schools.

Edmond schools will reopen Thursday with a split A/B class schedule and a mask requirement for all students in first through 12th grade. Edmond Superintendent Bret Towne said the state-provided PPE will add to the equipment the district already bought.

“We’re OK right now, but this is going to extend what we would have been purchasing in 45 or 60 days,” Towne said after the tour. “So we feel really good about making it through this whole semester with the supplies we have of masks, shields, gowns and gloves.”

School districts still need help finding disinfectants to maintain frequent sanitation of classrooms and buses, he said.

Read more about State delivers $10 million in PPE to schools.

“We’ve been working with the Department of Human Services and governor’s office since April trying to get something like this going,” Long commented. “They wanted to make sure that there were locations across as many areas of the state as possible. That will allow us three locations (Durant, Ardmore and Broken Bow) in our general area.

“There were so many parents concerned with their kids going back to school that the governor finally signed off on that funding.”

Long pointed out the success they have had at the Boys & Girls Club of Durant, which is located at 415 N. 5th Ave. Since reopening this summer, they have had no positive virus tests reported while following safety protocols each day.

The 15 club locations throughout the state have also prepared more than 100,000 grab-and-go meals for Oklahoma youths throughout that time frame.

“Ever since the pandemic hit, we’ve been figuring out a way to keep busy,” he said. “We’ve been open all summer here with no positive tests and are doing a really good job of screening.”

In Community Hope Centers, students who are registered will go through a normal school day similar to that experienced at a regular school campuses, with hours from approximately 7:30 a.m.- 3 p.m. dedicated to virtual learning. That will also include physical education classes.

With the governor’s funding, the Boys & Girls Club has been hiring certified teachers and youth development professionals to help students while also adding more computers and internet bandwidth in the process.

Read more about Local Boys & Girls Club serving as a virtual learning site for students.

“This program will allow families, school leaders make good decisions for their students,” said Rebecca Wilkinson, executive director for the statewide Charter School Board. “Keeping them enrolled in their local community schools, but also meeting their unique needs.”

The Learn Anywhere initiative is set to add flexibility and allow each district to transition a class to virtual learning if needed. One school district said this curriculum allows them to teach more than just the basics.

“This learn anywhere curriculum and the amount of courses that are offered will allow or us to offer art at home, computer science at home,” said Cecilia Robinson-Woods, superintendent for Millwood Public Schools.

Read more about More than 100 Public Schools Sign Up for Learn Anywhere.

The mayor said the nearly $31 million allocation will help in several key areas, of which he specifically highlighted the city’s Internet Access Plan.

The city in April established the Internet Access Taskforce led by Tulsa Public Schools, Jenks Public Schools, Union Public Schools and ImpactTulsa — all working with two dozen different agencies. The data-driven task force found that:

• 15% of Tulsa County families don’t have access to internet at home through any means.

• One in three Tulsa households don’t have “wireline” broadband needed for virtual meetings or online learning.

• An estimated 57,000 households in Tulsa and 20,000 Tulsa students don’t have fast, reliable internet at home.

Read more about Tulsa will spend $5.6 million in CARES Act funds connecting families to internet to help children learn virtually.

Stitt presented Bynum with a check for more than $30 million from the Coronavirus Relief Fund at a news conference in Tulsa.

“Mayor Bynum and his team at the City of Tulsa have done a great job coming up with innovative ways to use this money to continue to fight COVID-19, support local businesses and help educate our children.”

Read more about Gov. Stitt, City of Tulsa roll out plan to get internet access to families.

“For the past two months, the State has closely followed guidance from the federal government in how to distribute critical Coronavirus Relief Funds to state agencies, cities and counties,” Stitt said in a release. “The new CRF allocation model will ensure city and county governments have equitable access and more foresight as they plan for the remainder 2020.”

The State’s new CRF allocation model designates a portion of the $250 million to each city and county based on a formula of $77 per capita. The model calculates city and county populations using the latest 2019 Census estimates, and county populations solely reflect unincorporated areas.

Wagoner County is eligible for $2.92 million and all six Wagoner County communities are named on the list of recipients.

Coweta is eligible for $773,268 while Wagoner is eligible for $707,981. Other towns and amounts include Okay, $54,110; Porter, $52,568; Redbird, $11,870 and Tullahassee, $8,478.

Portions of Bixby, Broken Arrow, Catoosa, Fair Oaks and Tulsa are also located in the county and are eligible for funds.

Read more about Help is on the way: CARES Act funding allocated for Wagoner County, cities.

Bridge the Gap is an initiative that will allocate $8 million from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund to provide Oklahoma families who fall below the federal poverty line with access to purchase technology, materials or supplies.

“As our students face disruptions caused by COVID-19, and more schools are turning to distance learning this new school year, we must ensure all students, no matter their financial situation, have the supplies necessary to access their schoolwork,” said Gov. Stitt. “Bridge the Gap puts the power in Oklahoma families’ hands to choose what materials are most necessary to make sure their students are academically successful. This could be buying new technology, accessing online curriculum, or buying books and supplies for learning at home. We’re proud to offer this program that provides parents with the flexibility they need in order to meet the needs of their individual student.”

Families must submit an application online in order to qualify. Families who meet the federal low-income level guidelines of less than $26,200 per year for a family of four will be given priority to receive the Bridge the Gap grant.

“Bridge the Gap’s easy and secure access to funds will be essential in providing Oklahoma students with an opportunity to eliminate financial barriers that may prevent a successful distance learning school year,” said Secretary of Human Services and of Early Childhood Initiatives Justin Brown. “By having access to these funds, lower income students and families no longer have to worry about their child falling behind on their schoolwork due to a lack of access to technological and educational resources.”  

Read more about Governor Stitt announces launch of ‘Bridge the Gap Digital Wallet’.

After the Phase 2 funds were given out on July 14, there were still about 3,000 businesses that remained unfunded. Those businesses who submitted their application by that phase 2 deadline are considered qualified for this additional funding.

“The vision of the OBRP was to provide Oklahoma companies impacted by COVID-19 access to much needed funding to bridge the gap while they work to get back up to speed, both in terms of operations and revenues,” said Stitt. “Our CARES FORWARD team has worked hard to ensure these critical funds are distributed quickly and on target, and I am pleased we are able to provide additional assistance to the remaining OBRP applicants.”

Read more about State Dedicates $45 Million To Business Relief Applicants Still In Need.