It's the largest chunk of federal money ever to hit Rhode Island schools: $645 million for elementary and secondary education, with $580 million going directly to local school districts.
"It really is a huge amount of money," said Professor Nate Schwartz at Brown University's Annenberg Institute. Schwartz said the funding, known as Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, or ESSER, can re-shape education in Rhode Island.
"An amount of money that has the potential to do really big things for the systems," Schwartz said.
The top spending category: more than 1,000 new employees in school districts statewide.
But is it possible to hire that many people?
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