The United States federal government is giving a record amount of pandemic aid to the nation’s schools. President Joe Biden’s administration is hoping schools use the money to improve deep problems within the nation’s school system. But many districts say they have more immediate problems to solve first. Detroit, Michigan, is a poor city with a long-struggling school system. The city is using the federal money to fix buildings with structural problems. The district is also using some of the government money to hire more teachers, have smaller classes and provide more mental health services. But at least half of the $1.3 billion in federal aid is being used to repair school buildings. Nikolai Vitti leads Detroit Public Schools. He said, “For decades, we have been inequitably funded to deal with the enormous needs that poverty and racial injustice have created in our city.” With the pandemic money, he said, the district will finally be able to work toward fixing the problem. The Biden administration has pushed schools to make large changes with the money. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona has called it a time for big ideas. He said districts could use the money to lessen inequality. But many large city districts are putting the pandemic money towards short-term needs. Schools have used the aid to hire medical workers, put more books in libraries and bring back art classes.