Fearing for students, educators demand Senate act to protect public schools
By Amanda Litvinov
Education advocates have succeeded in urging federal legislators in the U.S. House of Representatives to take the first step in protecting public education from the financial turmoil wrought by the coronavirus pandemic.
Today, the U.S. House passed the HEROES Act (Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions), a $3 trillion proposal to stabilize the economy that recognizes the critical role of the public school system.
The hallmark of the bill is $915 billion in relief for states, localities, territories, and tribes to pay vital workers such as first responders, health workers, and educators who are at risk of losing jobs from massive budget shortfalls. There is $90 billion specifically to stabilize funding for K-12 and higher education.
Now, the bill goes to the Senate. Unless they act, credible estimates indicate that public schools could face budget reductions anywhere from 25 to 35 percent.
“Our governor said early on that we could be looking at 20 percent cuts to school budgets next year,” says Phil Hayes, vice president of Ohio’s Columbus Education Association who for years taught high school social studies.
“We know that with cuts that deep, districts are going to lose educators. And that means fewer services for our students at a time when they will need more services, not less,” Hayes said.
“How are we going to meet even greater needs among students with fewer educators and less resources?”
The crisis yet to come
Every statistic related to the cratering of the economy is terrifying.
At least 36.5 million Americans are out of work, the highest rate since the Great Depression. Lost jobs and business closures have decimated state revenues; those losses could get as bad as $650 billion over the next three years, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Though the $30 billion Congress dedicated to K-12 and higher education when it passed the CARES Act last month was a step in the right direction, it won’t begin to cover such losses.
Even a 15 percent cut to education budgets could eliminate as many as 320,000 teaching jobs according to an analysis by the Learning Policy Institute. The lead researcher acknowledged that’s a conservative figure, and the reality is likely to be far worse.
We know from past experience that those job cuts will not be equally felt. Poorer districts that rely more heavily on state aid, will be hit the hardest.
In Michigan, the chair of the state senate’s education committee has already warned of a CONTINUE READING: Fearing for students, educators demand Senate act to protect public schools - Education Votes
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