Walla Walla Community College received approximately $655,000 in federal dollars destined for higher education under the American Rescue Plan.

The award supports low-income, high-need WWCC students and strengthens the university’s efforts to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Senator Patty Murray, chairman of the Senate Education Committee and senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced in July that five Washington colleges received more than $2 million in combined federal bailouts. .

The WWCC award was the largest of any Washington college or university, said Karl Easttorp, the school’s spokesman, in a news release.

Easttorp said local higher education schools such as WWCC were prioritized in the selection process. The university has him to spend the funds by July 2023.

WWCC President Chad Hickox said the additional funding will allow the Walla Walla and Clarkston communities to continue to have access to “quality education.”

The grant award follows the university’s announcement of the Warrior Pledge, a first-year pilot program that will cover tuition and other educational costs from start to finish for as many as 50 students this fall. increase.