Lamont McClure and the Northampton County Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) have proposed a resolution to increase WI-FI and electronic equipment needs to school districts, veterans and senior citizens via the COVID-19 County Relief Block Grant Program. The Resolution will be presented to Northampton County Council at their July 16, 2020 meeting. If approved by County Council, it would award $100,000 each to the school districts of Bethlehem, Easton, Bangor, Northampton and Nazareth and award $50,000 each to the school districts of Wilson, Saucon Valley and Pen Argyl. The resolution would also grant $175,000 to Northampton County Department of Human Services (DHS) to purchase WI-FI annual vouchers and electronic equipment for underserved senior citizens and veterans within the county.

“The COVID-19 outbreak has drastically altered the way our children are educated and not every child has access to a computer or the internet,” says Lamont McClure. “These grants will give our K-12 students the tools they need to fully participate in the current educational process and help our senior citizens and veterans gain access to needed information and services.”

Act 24, signed by Governor Wolf, provides $625 million in CARES Act money to Pennsylvania counties. Northampton County received $27.5 million in funds.