Montgomery, AL — Today, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) continued her American Rescue Plan District Tour with a stop at Carver High School to highlight the direct relief that Montgomery County Public Schools will receive from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. Thanks to the historic legislation, Montgomery County Public Schools will receive $129.7 million to get children back in schools safely and make up for lost time in the classroom.

“Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, we already faced substantial barriers in our public education system,” said Rep. Sewell. “Public school enrollment in Alabama’s Black Belt has seen an exponential decline in the past two decades. The pandemic only worsened this situation, putting an unprecedented strain on schools across the country and especially here in Alabama.”

“That is why I was proud to cast my vote for the American Rescue Plan which will deliver over $2 billion in funding for public schools in Alabama and $129.7 million to Montgomery County Public Schools,” continued Sewell. “We know this money is desperately needed because schools have told us. This funding will help schools safely reopen and get us on a path to a more sustainable and prosperous future.”

Specifically, Sewell announced federal funding for the following:

• Over $122 billion for K-12 schools nationally
• Over $2 billion for K-12 schools in Alabama
• $129.7 million for Montgomery County K-12 schools

These funds can be used for such things as:

• Reducing class sizes, 
• Modifying spaces so that students and teachers can socially distance, 
• Improving ventilation,
• Implementing more mitigation measures,
• Providing personal protective equipment, and 
• Providing summer school or other support for students that help make up lost learning time this year.

The American Rescue Plan will save lives and livelihoods: 

• Put Vaccines in Arms: The plan has created a $20 billion national vaccination program that includes setting up community vaccination sites nationwide and addressing disparities facing communities of color.  It also takes complementary measures to combat the virus, including scaling up testing and tracing, addressing shortages of personal protective equipment and other critical supplies, investing in high-quality treatments and addressing health care disparities. 
• Put Money in People’s Pockets: The plan finishes the job on the President’s promise to provide $2,000 in direct assistance to households across America with checks of $1,400 per person, following the $600 down payment enacted in December.  The plan will also provide direct housing assistance, nutrition assistance for 40 million Americans, expand access to safe and reliable child care and affordable health care, extend unemployment insurance so that 18 million American workers can pay their bills and support 27 million children with an expanded Child Tax Credit and more than 17 million low-wage workers through an improved Earned Income Tax Credit.
• Put Children Safely Back in School: The plan delivers $170 billion for education and $45 billion for child care providers.  This includes a $130 billion investment in K-12 school re-opening and making up for lost time in the classroom, with funds that can be used for such things as reducing class sizes, modifying spaces so that students and teachers can socially distance, improving ventilation, implementing more mitigation measures, providing personal protective equipment and providing summer school or other support for students that help make up lost learning time this year.  The plan also provides more than $40 billion for higher education.
• Put People Back In Jobs: The plan will provide crucial support for the hardest-hit small businesses, especially those owned by entrepreneurs from racial and ethnic backgrounds that have experienced systemic discrimination, with EIDL grants, expanded PPP eligibility and more.  The plan also provides crucial resources to protect the jobs of first responders, frontline public health workers, teachers, transit workers and other essential workers that all Americans depend on.

Background on the American Rescue Plan District Tour: 

Rep. Sewell’s American Rescue Plan District Tour is a series of site visits, roundtable discussions, and constituency meetings to connect residents of Alabama’s 7th Congressional District with all the resources available in the American Rescue Plan. The tour began on Tuesday, March 23, 2021.

Announcements, photos and videos from the tour will be made available on Rep. Sewell’s social media on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, as well as on her website at Sewell.house.gov.  

Photos from today’s Montgomery County presentation can be found here.