Planning for Surplus, and Surprise Funds

By. Craig Perrier

Last week our administrator asked us two unexpected questions.  First, “is there a conference you want to attend?” And the second, “Do you need any technology or supplies?” I was skeptical as these types of budget questions don’t happen at this time of the year. But I was assured that these are legitimate questions. Wow!

I am not certain what the funding source is supporting the inquiries, but when I asked colleagues on other teams and working in other districts, they expressed the same phenomenon. Simply put, there is money to be spent.

In turn, I encourage you to ask administrators at your school or in your district about how ESSER funds, title 2, title 4, and allocated grant money is being used. Even better, as you search for answers to your fiscal curiosity, it would be ideal to have ideas on how that money could be used. The Educator Marketplace is a great thought partner for this exercise.

The Educator Marketplace has partnered with an array of education focused organizations.  Below is just a small sample of curriculum and technology resources they provide to support teaching and learning in your school.

• Get a FREE Education Buisness Account – Teachers and staff have millions of products at their fingertips and can browse, review, and order items conveniently. With expedited shipping, teachers and staff receive the tools to teach, when they need them.
• Spangler:  Features highly interactive experiments and hands-on activities created by Steve Spangler. His easy to follow lessons serve as an introduction to more in-depth experiments and challenges that push the learners creativity to the next level.
• Outschool: Explore fun, social, and safe learning experiences—taught over live video chat. 140,000+ classes led by qualified teachers. Learn from home for as low as $10/class.
• Grammarly: From grammar and spelling to style and tone, Grammarly helps you eliminate errors and find the perfect words to express yourself.
• Samsung: Save up to 30% on smartphones, laptops, tablets, and other purchases. Educators and students can get additional consumer electronics and home appliance discounts by verifying their identity during purchase.
• HP: Use their live chat feature to ask for the teacher discount to be applied to your HP account. Free shipping on all orders. Printer Sale! Save on HP printers, starting at $50 for select models!

Asking about the availability of funds to support student learning is a legitimate and valuable question.  But the ask is only as good as the plan that backs it.   Scanning the marketplace will not only support your existing plans, it will also generate new ideas. Take a look, be inspired, and enjoy!