Minnesota Department of Education Selects ClassWallet to Distribute Federal EANS and ELC Funds to K-12 Schools to Help Offset Pandemic-Related Disruptions and Support COVID-19 Testing Programs
Innovative Digital Wallet Platform to Deliver Up to $55 Million to Participating Non-Public Schools and Public Schools Over Three Years
MIAMI and ROSEVILLE, Minn., Feb. 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Minnesota Department of Education has selected ClassWallet to distribute up to $55 million from two federal funding programs to help kindergarten through 12th grade schools manage the continuing disruptions caused by COVID-19.
The first program, funded with up to $40 million in Emergency Assistance for Non-Public Schools (EANS) funds, provides non-public and private schools with economic support to help them offset the educational disruption caused by COVID-19. The funds can be used at school administrators' discretion to purchase whatever supplies and services are needed to keep their schools operating during the pandemic.
The second program provides up to $15 million dollars in federal Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity (ELC) funds for all schools – public and non-public – to support in-school COVID-related health protocols including COVID-19 testing, contact tracing, vaccinations, surveillance, containment and mitigation through the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
"The EANS and ELC funds covered by our agreements with the Minnesota Department of Education fund critical programs are designed to help all of the state's K-12 schools – but the funding mechanisms themselves, with required approvals, tracking and compliance can become a big headache for resource-strapped districts to manage," said Jamie Rosenberg, CEO, ClassWallet.
The two Minnesota state contracts with ClassWallet are for three-year terms and are in effect through December 2024. ClassWallet set up both SchoolWallet systems in December 2021. The accounts payable automation platform provides school administrators with digital wallet accounts they can use to purchase goods and services from a pre-approved e-commerce marketplace of national, regional and local providers. The system also allows for quick reimbursements and vendor and service provider payments for approved purchases made outside of the marketplace.
"Our SchoolWallet solution will help school administrators throughout the state to manage the distribution, reimbursement and reconciliation of all expenditures and eliminates burdensome paper-based and manual processes all while ensuring the financial integrity of the program for state and federal auditors," said Rosenberg.
The Minnesota EANS agreement is the company's eighth, joining those in effect in Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan and South Carolina; the ELC contract is ClassWallet's first.