What Kâ12 Leaders Should Know When Spending Federal Funds School districts will receive more money from the government this year, and they should be prepared to use it strategically. by Curtiss Strietelmeier is a Kâ12 analyst for CDWâ¢G. He spent two years as an elementary teacher, two years as an educational trainer, 10 years as a director of technology and six years as a school superintendent. Since March 2020, the federal government has provided roughly $190 billion to the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund. The passing of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 on March 11 marks the third designation of federal funding Kâ12 schools have seen during the pandemic.