News Detail

CARES Act Funding Distributed to School Districts for Internet Access

Commissioners

January 11, 2021

The Franklin County Board of Commissioners recently approved the final round of COVID-19 Relief grants. The commissioners awarded $1.38 million to four Franklin County school districts for pandemic-related broadband costs.

“The CARES Act funding allotted to Franklin County has been distributed across the county to help mitigate the impact of this pandemic on all of our communities,” said Commissioner Chairman Dave Keller.

A team of county and legal representatives reviewed the COVID-19 Relief grant applications for broadband internet access and the following award recommendations were made to the Board of Commissioners:

Chambersburg Area School District – $251,532.14
Greencastle-Antrim School District – $833,165.53
Tuscarora School District – $156,929.20
Waynesboro Area School District – $138,404.20

The money for the COVID-19 Relief grants came from Act 24 of 2020, signed by Governor Wolf on May 29, 2020, which provides $625 million in federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding to Pennsylvania counties by means of block grants, administered through the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED). Under this legislation, Franklin County received $14 million to help address the impacts and critical needs created by the COVID-19 pandemic.  CARES funding guidance allowed for grants to support small businesses, tourism businesses, municipalities, nonprofit agencies, behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment, and broadband internet deployment.

All CARES Act funding for Franklin County is allocated. To view the COVID-19 Relief grants information dashboard, including maps of distribution areas, visit https://arcg.is/1CzDfX.

###