This article is open to all free of cost, as the reporting for this entire series was made possible by a grant from the Poynter Institute with support from the Joyce Foundation.
Read all of our reporting on the American Rescue Plan Act’s impact in Ashland County here. And if you have any questions for the reporter, send her an email at mariah@ashlandsource.com.
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LOUDONVILLE — Nearly half the students in Loudonville-Perrysville Exempted Village Schools are identified as economically disadvantaged.
A smaller number of students — 16 total, or 1.9% — have been identified as homeless.
Those students in need benefited from American Rescue Plan Act dollars. Some money from that legislation aimed to specifically help vulnerable student populations in K-12 districts. One of those vulnerable populations included students struggling with homelessness.
In Loudonville-Perrysville Schools, the village offers help for students and families struggling with homelessness regularly, according to Supt. Jennifer Allerding. She joined the district as Loudonville-Perrysville Schools’ superintendent in August of 2023.
Allerding said Buzzard’s Shoe store has an account for the district funded by area churches and individuals that ensures all students have a good pair of shoes.
The Loudonville Church Women also provide backpacks with items from supply lists for each grade level in the district.
Still, the money ARPA provided allowed Loudonville-Perrysville Schools to offer extra support targeted at its students struggling with homelessness.
By the numbers
Two ARPA grants targeted students with economic difficulties: Homeless round II grants, and Homeless Targeted grants.
HOMELESS GRANTS
A federal formula determined the amount districts received from Homeless II grants.
According to the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, that formula determined amounts the following way:
- Fifty percent in proportion to the amount of funding the school or district received under Title I, Part A for the most recent fiscal year; and
- Fifty percent in proportion to the number of children and youth experiencing homelessness identified by the school or district relative to the other schools and districts in the state as reported in the 2018-19 or 2019-20 school years (whichever is greater).
HOMELESS TARGETED SUPPORT GRANTS
The state of Ohio set aside 25% of its Homeless allocation — more than $7 million — to fund “state activities.” In part, those funds went back to schools in the form of the ARP Homeless Targeted grants.
Those grants supported students experiencing homelessness in:
- Head Start programs
- Joint Vocational School Districts
- Community schools and public districts with 10 or fewer identified students experiencing homelessness
Nearly 300 applicants won funding from the competitive grant, including three Ashland County districts. Each received $16,500.
Districts could use those funds for a variety of purposes, from training and resources about the rights of homeless students to transportation.
The PDF below, compiled by the National Center for Homeless Education, provides a list of authorized activities.
Three Ashland County districts received Homeless funding. Three districts also received Homeless Targeted Support grants.
In total, those two grants brought a combined $104,110.31 into the county across five local school districts.
Below are the amounts each district reported spending from those grants between 2022-2024.
| School district | ARP Homeless funds | ARP Homeless Targeted Support funds |
|---|---|---|
| Ashland County Community Academy | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Ashland City Schools | $16,409.52 | $16,500 |
| Black River Local Schools | $22,465.66 | $0.00 |
| Hillsdale Local Schools | $0.00 | $16,500 |
| Loudonville-Perrysville Exempted Village Schools | $15,821.57 | $0.00 |
| Mapleton Local Schools | $0.00 | $16,413.56 |
‘A lack of understanding’
In rural areas, homelessness can be a particularly challenging issue to pinpoint, according to administrators at Mapleton Local Schools.
Mapleton is one of the Ashland County districts that received a Homeless Targeted Support grant. Hillsdale Local Schools and Ashland City Schools received Homeless Targeted Support funds, too.
“Our biggest issue was just a lack of understanding,” said Skip Fulton, Mapleton’s curriculum director.
That lack of understanding, and the challenges with identifying students as homeless, exists for several reasons in rural areas.
Some families don’t want to talk about homelessness, Fulton said. Pride can play a role. Families may not want to admit their financial struggles.
Plus, homelessness can look different in a rural community compared to an urban one. Students aren’t necessarily living on the streets.
Instead, a child could be crashing at a friend’s house, or multiple generations of a family are living in one household.
How did Ashland County schools spend ARPA Homeless funds?
Schools across the state had to report expenditures to Ohio’s Continuous Comprehensive Improvement Plan. But, they did not have to offer specifics about how they spent ARPA funds.
Ashland Source reporters used budget detail pages, which contained schools’ plans for spending the money, to question administrators in each district about how they spent Homeless and Homeless Targeted Support grant funds.
Ashland City Schools
Ashland City Schools was the only district in the county to receive both Homeless II funds and Homeless Targeted Support grant funds.
The district spent all its funds from both grants — a total of $32,909.52 — on “purchased services,” according to 2023 final expenditure reports.
Kyle Klingler, the district’s treasurer, said the district allocated that money to Appleseed Community Mental Health Center and Advocates for Families.
“We decided to allocate it to them because they are already working with those families,” Klingler said. “They’re aware of those families, which we know as well, but we felt like the best use of those dollars would be just allocating it to them so they can use those dollars for those individual families.”
Mapleton Local Schools
Mapleton Local Schools’ $16,500 from the Homeless Targeted Support grant showed a total of $6,499 going toward “purchased services.” Another $9,914.56 was spent on supplies.
Officials said the district used some of its Homeless Targeted Support grant funds to put all its employees through training to identify the signs of homelessness. It also brought a homeless coordinator onboard.
Katy Wiley, the district treasurer, said the money spent on supplies allowed the district to purchase clothing and other needed items for students and families.
Loudonville-Perrysville Schools
Loudonville-Perrysville Exempted Village Schools spent part of its Homeless money similarly. The district received $15,821.57 in Homeless II funds. All of it was spent on supplies, according to the district’s 2023 final expenditure report in CCIP.
Budget detail pages showed the district planned to purchase $2,967.91 worth of debit cards with money from the Homeless II grant.
“These cards are secured and utilized when students that are identified as homeless are in need of specific items,” Allerding said. “We work in collaboration with our liaisons and school counselors to identify areas of need and provide students what is needed.”
Allerding said those cards still have funds on them. The district opted to take that route because it had to spend Homeless funds by a certain date, and “wanted to make sure we could still support our homeless students.”
Liaisons and counselors sign out the cards, and then provide itemized lists of what they purchased for individual students.
Allerding said the district also purchased “school supplies, bedding, clothing, hygiene products, and other items” for homeless students with those funds.
Budget detail pages show the district planned to make the following purchases:
- School supplies — $2,967.91
- Wraparound services — $2,967.91
- Purchasing cell phones or other technological devices/equipment — $2,967.91
Black River Local Schools
Black River Local Schools received $22,465.66 total in Homeless II funds. It reported spending $944.46 in 2023, and $21,521.20 in 2024.
Budget detail pages stated the district would use the funds to purchase a fleet van. That fleet van would transport students struggling with homelessness.
The estimated cost of the van in the district’s budget detail pages was $17,465.66. Another $5,000 went toward short-term, temporary housing.
Assistant supt. Jill Beiser confirmed the district’s funds went toward the fleet van. Beiser explained when students are identified as homeless, they have a choice between remaining in their district of origin, or attending school in the district where they currently live.
“The two districts need to work out how to handle transporting a student,” Beiser said. “For example, if they are temporarily in our district, but they want to go to their district of origin, we will work with the district to arrange transportation.
“It is much more feasible to use a van to transport a student, depending on where their district is, than taking an entire school bus for a student.”
