SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) –The Syracuse City School District is receiving $100 million from the American Rescue Plan Act as a form COVID-19 relief and they are looking for input from the parents on how they should use it.
The district sent out a survey asking the parents to prioritize using the money for all-day summer programs, field trips, air purifiers among other things.
Damyria Smarr, a parent of a 2nd grader at Ed Smith Elementary, believes there should be upgrades both in and outside of the building.
“I don’t even believe that his school has A/C,” Smarr said. “They don’t go on enough field trips. I don’t think they went on a field trip this entire year.”
Brittney Dozier, a parent of a child in the district, wants them to focus on life skills to prepare the kids for life after school.
“I feel like if they added another curriculum where they did financial literacy would be helpful,” Dozier said. “When they go into the real world, they will know how to handle money. I feel like experiences like those will impact their lives for the better.”
Dozier also believes that some of the money should be used towards improving the out of classroom experience such as better athletic facilities.
“There are some schools who don’t even have baseball fields,” Dozier said. “That was a big thing this past spring. There was an issue with two of the schools … using Meachem Field.”
Most importantly, she said that the district should be honest and transparent about where they are sending the money.
“As long as we know where the money is going, that will make a huge difference,” Dozier said. “If we don’t see it, that’s where the conspiracy theories come into play and we feel like it’s not being utilized the way it should.”
The district serves over 20,000 kids in the city of Syracuse. The survey ends on June 18.
