Monterey County’s higher ed students and institutions have received millions in pandemic relief.

The county’s three public institutions of higher learning have received more than $26 million in Covid-19 pandemic relief funds between September 2020-June 2021, according to published reports. Nearly $9.5 million was distributed to a combined total of more than 11,300 students for rent, food and other needs by CSU Monterey Bay, Hartnell College and Monterey Peninsula College.

The colleges and CSUMB used remaining federal money from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund – part of the $2.2 trillion CARES Act passed by Congress in March 2020 – to bolster their budgets in the face of high revenue losses and sudden expenses for the transition to online learning. For students, the money has proved to be an essential resource allowing them to remain focused on learning, says Larry Walker, MPC’s vice president of student services in a written statement.

According to its quarterly HEERF reports, CSUMB received over $14.1 million. Besides direct emergency funds to students, another $276,000 was spent on providing students with equipment, hotspots and other gear for online classes. It also reimbursed students $4.7 million for tuition, housing and meal plans they couldn’t use when the campus shut down.

CSUMB was able to reimburse itself $8.3 million for lost revenues directly due to the pandemic, including a $6.2 million budget cut from the state. “Our balance sheets are nearly the same as pre-pandemic, leaving us in a position of strength as we have been working through the return to campus opening to our students this fall,” says Glen Nelson, CSUMB’s CFO and vice president for administration and finance in a written statement.

Hartnell reported spending over $530,000 on providing or subsidizing the cost of high-speed internet to students or faculty. It reimbursed itself $1.7 million for lost revenues. MPC reported using $464,000 for campus safety and operations, $43,000 for providing laptops, tablets and other equipment to students and $74,500 on costs related to adding more classes and instructors to enable social distancing.