School Districts Need Budget Relief as School Starts Amid Pandemic: U.S. Senate Must Pass HEROES Act
Here we are in mid-July. Facing enormous challenges, school district leaders are trying to figure out how they can safely provide school this fall. Here are the two biggest questions:
- How can schools be reopened safely as COVID-19 is now raging across many states and local hot spots?
- What funds—in the midst of recessionary state budget shortfalls—will be available to plan for staffing levels, programming, and safety precautions during the pandemic?
While the news this past week has been filled with reports about school districts’ reopening plans (here and here.), next week the U.S. Senate will return from recess and begin to debate the HEROES Act, passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on May 15.
The proposals on the table involve confusing estimates of the massive dollars involved and the debate has become highly politicized. However, there is no question that school districts are going to need more money. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities explains: “State and local tax revenues have crashed in recent months due to massive layoffs, business shutdowns, and social distancing measures to fight the virus… We estimate that state budget shortfalls will total about $555 billion over fiscal years 2020-2022, a sharper drop than even the worst years of the Great Recession of a decade ago—not including the added costs to fight COVID-19… In the Great Recession, states relied disproportionately on budget cuts to close their shortfalls, and they’ll almost certainly follow a similar path without more federal aid. State and local governments are already starting to cut services and furlough or lay off teachers… and other public workers.”
Chalkbeat’s Kalyn Belsha reports on several reasons the CARES Act, an early relief bill passed by Congress in March, is inadequate to the current education funding crisis. She reports that Sarah Abernathy, the deputy executive director of the Committee for Education Funding calls the CARES Act a mere ‘down payment’ which barely begins to cover funding necessities.” CONTINUE READING: School Districts Need Budget Relief as School Starts Amid Pademic: U.S. Senate Must Pass HEROES Act | janresseger
