School districts across the United States are announcing teacher and staff layoffs as they prepare to end pandemic relief efforts, the nation’s largest investment in K-12 education once upon a time. These funds are due to be spent by the end of September, creating a severe fiscal cliff. Unfortunately, this comes at a time when schools are already struggling with sharply declining enrollments and rising prices. Several districts have warned of layoffs as the current school year comes to a close and budget plans are in place for next year. Local headlines about teacher layoffs are unlikely to make Americans feel better, as many people are still not pessimistic about the economy. This challenges President Joe Biden to show voters how much better he is than he was four years ago.
For example, a public school district in Missoula, Montana, is considering cutting 33 teaching positions and 13 administrative positions including a director of special education and director of the arts This is due to budget shortfalls caused by federal funding for and enrollment in the district's schools ended so In black , the district is facing rising insurance and utility costs "The last time Missoula County Public Schools saw a decline." like this was about a generation ago," Superintendent Micah Hill said at a school board meeting earlier this year.
The public school district in Arlington, Texas, will cut 275 positions at the end of this school year funded by federal pandemic aid These positions include staff who helped provide after-school care, instruction and mental health services provided by the. With a countywide workforce of about 8,500, employees affected by the layoffs can apply for other available positions.
And in Hartford, Connecticut, 30 teachers and 79 other employees reportedly lost their jobs. In all, about 384 positions will be cut, although some were already vacant, while others will not be filled when an employee retires or leaves. Enrollment in Hartford public schools has declined 21% since 2010, due to declining school-age populations and policies that allow Hartford residents to enroll in schools in counties a nearby so “that is a long-standing problem that ESSER, ” said Superintendent Leslie Torres-Rodriguez in a statement to CNN. ESSER, or Emergency Elementary and Secondary School Relief, refers to the grant program that provided federal funding for the epidemic.
Pandemic aid comes to an end
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress authorized three rounds of federal funding for K-12 schools. It was authorized at $190 billion for K-12 schools from March 2020 to March 2021, about six times what it typically receives from the federal government in a single year Initially, many states used that money purchased facades, fixtures, and upgraded HVAC systems , which were used to reopen classrooms. In the final approved budget for 2021, at least 20% of the funds had to be spent on academic disadvantage. This could be instructional programs, summer school, or extended school days.
The third tranche of funding had few limits and gave counties more than three years to pay it back. Local school boards were primarily responsible for deciding how to spend money on a wide range of epidemic-related needs. Many districts hired additional teachers and staff even though they knew funding would eventually run out. While districts are required to report spending patterns, the reports often lack detail, making it difficult to determine how many teachers have been hired with federal money
A new report from CALDER, an education research center, found that in Washington state alone, federal funding created nearly 12,000 positions (including more than 5,000 classroom teachers) without additional funding adding it would not be formed. Counties that have created new positions must decide now whether and how to fund them going forward.
How many teachers are at risk?
Many school districts are struggling to fill open positions, particularly in math, science, special education studies and rural areas but some districts that have received pandemic funds have added positions, while public school enrollment has declined at in the country. As a result, teachers risk being fired. It’s hard to estimate the exact number of jobs at risk statewide, but if workforce levels fall back to pre-pandemic levels in 2018-19, states would have to lay off workers 384,000 full-time employees, according to Chad Adleman , an education analyst.
Counties with low-income families may face greater financial strain because state pandemic relief laws direct states to allocate funds in the same manner as Title I funding. This means more money goes to districts with lower-income families. Heather Perske, president of the National Council on Quality Teachers, said students of color and those who attend high-poverty districts will face the most dismissals.
When districts lay off employees, they often fire the most recent hires. But Perske suggests that districts should consider teacher performance as they approach layoffs to ensure that highly effective teachers are not laid off, putting students at greater disadvantage. He also recommends protecting high-demand workers such as math and special education teachers.
