On July 1, 2020, the Ponca City Public School District was notified that they were 1 of 150 schools awarded Incentive Grant funds to help mitigate the impact of COVID-19 through June 30 of 2021. The competitive grant consisted of $8 million dollars set-aside in the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Funds from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund, which are components of the CARES Act.

In addition to the CARES money, PCPS was awarded an additional $284,135 to support students with additional resources such as technology, content and learning management systems, connectivity, and other resources to ensure continued equitable learning in the event of intermittent school closure next year. Over 350 schools applied for the competitive grant, and only 150 schools were awarded funds. The Ponca City School District was the 12th highest award recipient in the state! The maximum awards were dependent on the size of the school.

PCPS Superintendent Shelley Arrott said, “We are thankful Governor Stitt and State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister provided the opportunity for all public schools to apply for the grant. The timeline for application was a quick turnaround, and we appreciate all the members of the PCPS Team who were very persistent and worked diligently to submit the grant. These funds will help us provided devices and connectivity to continue with equitable learning for all students in the event we have an intermittent closure next year.”