Report: No Way to Reopen Schools Safely Without Federal Bailout
A new cost estimate from school superintendents shows reopening following CDC guidelines is cost-prohibitive
IN ORDER TO ADHERE TO the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention safety recommendations for reopening, school districts will be forced to spend nearly $2 million per district that they hadn't budgeted for – a cost so prohibitive that some are now scrapping plans for in-person classes entirely this fall.
"There are some saying, 'It's early, but I have to tell you, I don't see how we could possibly open without additional funds,'" Daniel Domenech, executive director of AASA, the School Superintendents Association, says. "It's becoming an overwhelming problem and many districts are considering returning to distance learning."
The cost analysis from the superintendents organization and the Association of School Business Officials International shows that in some cases school districts can expect to spend an additional $490 per student in order to cover costs associated with purchasing hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes and other cleaning supplies, gloves, masks and other personal protective equipment, hiring additional custodial staff and nurses, and more. The additional expenses for an average school district of about 3,700 students total $1.8 million.
"The $1.8 million is for an average school district," Domenech says. "When you escalate to large urban school districts the numbers are impossible in order to adhere to CDC guidelines."
The estimate comes amid statewide budget cuts that have already or are likely to put a 10% to 25% dent in school budgets for the upcoming academic year, with some cuts as high as 35% already expected for the 2021-22 school year.
Los Angeles Unified School District and five other large urban districts in California have already notified Gov. Gavin Newsom that a projected $7 billion budget cut would dash all hopes of opening in time for the fall semester.
"It's impossible to do," Domenech says. "It's becoming an overwhelming problem."
The biggest ticket items associated with reopening in line with CDC guidance include hiring additional school personnel: A 3,700-student school district should expect to spend an additional $448,000 to hire more custodial staff to keep up with frequent cleaning recommendations, an additional $400,000 to ensure one nurse for each school and an additional $384,000 to hire one aide per school bus to screen student temperatures before they board.
Also cost prohibitive is the additional $169,000 to resume before- and after-school child care with proper social distancing and cleaning protocols, as well as the additional $148,000 to provide disposable masks for the estimated 30% of students who won't bring them from home.
The biggest concern of most school superintendents as they plan for how to reopen safely is the cost, as well as the logistics, associated with running buses at 25% capacity to comply with recommended social distancing guidelines. And the cost analysis from the associations deems it nearly impossible because it is cost-prohibitive.
"Bus fleets would need to quadruple in size to safely transport 100% of students under COVID-19 circumstances, which is financially unfeasible for districts," the analysis reads.
Shane Hotchkiss, the superintendent of Bermudian Springs School District in York Springs, CONTINUE READING: Report: Schools Need a Federal Bailout in Order to Reopen | Education News | US News