Plans for the relief funds have varied across the country. The federal government does limited tracking of the relief funds, which were sent directly to states. Many states, which dole out the money to districts, do not provide detailed breakdowns of expenditures. Although schools were initially slow to spend the money, they are now on track to exhaust the funding by the September 2024 deadline for budgeting the money. Ms. Lake said giving across-the-board bonuses, completing maintenance projects and plugging holes in budgets were less effective interventions.

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Persons: Robin Lake, Lake Organizations: Reinventing Public Education