A new school year is upon us once again, and while this year brings its usual dose of staffing shortages and unruly behavior, the issue could be worse due to funding shortfalls.
School districts across the country have been left scrambling this summer to find funding for staff whose positions were being funded with COVID relief money that runs out this month.
The research group Rand recently reported in a survey that teacher reductions were “the most common budget cut” school officials expected this year.
But why is this happening?
Over the past few years, the Biden administration has granted schools $189.5 billion through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, made possible by the American Rescue Plan Act.
However, school districts will have until the end of September to commit the remainder of the funds given to them through the fund. Starting on Oct. 1, they will also no longer be able to use it to pay nonteaching staff roles.
The Department of Education reports that the majority of schools nationwide used the relief funding for classroom teachers and support staff, but now, as funding is running dry, recently hired educators, teaching assistants, counselors, and other key staff are finding themselves without a paycheck as districts are unable to retain them.
While the funding deadline approaches, more districts are finding themselves discussing staff layoffs, with new teachers often being the first to go due to “last-in-first-out” policies.
However, in at least 11 states, including Alaska, California, Hawaii, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Rhode Island, there were policies last year that required districts to consider seniority in layoff decisions, Educators for Excellence shared in a 2023 report.
Marguerite Roza, the director of Georgetown University’s Edunomics Lab, discussed the impact that these layoffs will have with USA Today.
“It’s really disruptive for students,” Roza said. “And it’s not great for teachers.”
The funding shortfall couldn’t come at a worse time for the education field, as schools are already struggling to find educators following a mass exodus from the industry during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The US Department of Education estimates that from February to May 2020, the economy lost 730,000 local public education jobs, or about 9% of the field overall. As of 2022, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that in 2022, there were 567,000 fewer educators in public schools than before the pandemic.
On top of that, those sticking around are feeling massive amounts of stress, according to a recent survey from the Connecticut Education Association, which found that 78% are feeling burnt out.