School BUSRide JANUARY 2021 | Page 13

Zonar ' s pupil safety solutions now qualify for ESSER fund subgrant under CARES Act

Zonar has announced that two of its class-leading school bus safety solutions , Zonar EVIR ® and Z Pass , now qualify for special grant funding .
The Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund ( ESSER Fund ), under the CARES Act , enables states to award subgrants to local education agencies such as school districts , that fund solutions , supplies and technologies to address difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic .
" We are extremely honored to be able to provide critical school bus safety solutions to school districts in need during this unprecedented time ," H . Kevin Mest , senior vice president of passenger services at Zonar , told School BUSRide . " Safety , which has always been Zonar ' s key focus , is now more important than ever . Zonar will continue to put safety above all else as we work with school districts across the nation to develop new best practices and safety technologies that address the challenges COVID-19 presents ."
awarding them . Zonar offers a professional grant writing assistance program , together with Learn Design Apply , Inc ., that will work with school districts directly to support the grant application process from start to post-award management . Learn Design Apply has secured over 1,000 successful awards , totaling $ 200M in funding over a 20-year history with a 95 percent success rate . Zonar ' s professional grant writing assistant program can also work to identify other opportunities outside of the CARES Act and ESSER Fund . “ Like most things it ' s a partnership ,” Mest said . “ Finding the subject matter experts that can guide you through that process , because , as always , there ' s a learning curve on a new grant . We wanted to help connect them with a trusted partner that could provide specific instructions on the steps that need to be taken to confidently move forward .”
NAPT . ORG | 13