Catholic schools included in latest relief bill

Catholic schools in New York State scored a major win late Monday night.

After weeks of negotiations, Congress approved a massive $900 billion COVID relief bill, with New York State expected to receive $50 billion in federal aid, including $2.75 billion in relief for religious and private schools.

The extensive relief package bill - that is over 5,500 pages in length - was approved on Monday night after passing in the House — 359 to 53 — and then in the Senate by a 92-6 vote, and includes a new round of stimulus checks and extension of unemployment benefits. 

Albany Diocesan school officials expressed gratitude to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who played a decisive role in ensuring Catholic schools were included in the necessary funding to respond to the COVID pandemic. 

“On behalf of the thousands of Catholic school families, we are grateful to Senator Schumer for standing firm in his conviction that our Catholic schools receive a dedicated allocation and lifeline in these fiscally challenging times,” said Giovanni Virgiglio, superintendent of schools for the Albany Diocese.

“More importantly, it is reassuring that he acknowledges more needs to be done going forward. The costs associated with maintaining a healthy school environment are higher than ever, yet our Catholic schools are needed now more than ever.”

The New York State Catholic Conference (NYSCC) also was thankful for Schumer’s work. 

Dennis Poust, interim executive director and director of communications for the New York State Catholic Conference, said that the NYSCC has supported the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ efforts to help Catholic schools through the Catholic Action Network (CAN), an arm of the New York State Catholic Conference. 

The network called on Catholics to contact Schumer’s office about ensuring aid for Catholic schools, said Poust, and the thousands of emails that were delivered were effective. “The senator was ultimately instrumental in delivering the aid, which had initially been opposed by a number of Democrats,” Poust added.

With the bill passed, the network added a thank you Action Alert for Catholics to express their appreciation for Senator Schumer’s work for religious schools.

Added Poust: “The $2.75 billion in dedicated funding for religious and independent schools is going to provide critical relief to our schools, which have expended millions of dollars to create safe and effective learning environments for our kids.”