Is it true? ESSER boosted spending more in wealthier schools?
Larger higher-poverty districts got more ESSER per pupil than their peers. But, many of those districts then deployed relief funds in ways that disproportionately boosted spending in their wealthier schools. How did that happen?
No Silver School-Spending Bullets: 5 Lessons from ESSER to Help Drive Continued Learning Recovery
Marguerite Roza and Maggie Cicco share what we’ve learned from ESSER about making money matter more in schools, in an analysis published at Education Next.
Which districts could return relief dollars to the Feds?
The Sept. 30 ESSER deadline is fast approaching. Which districts might miss it?
30-Min Webinar: Can academic recovery continue when federal relief funds dry up?
We look at public education spending and outcomes over a decade, nationally and state by state, plus what the likely revenue trajectory could mean for future math and reading scores.
Widespread teacher shortages are over (mostly). Conditions are changing rapidly
It’s more important than ever to track real-time data.
Is it too late to protect what’s working as the cliff hits districts?
Next year’s school district budgets will be locked in this spring. After that, influencing spending for 24-25 gets a lot harder.
30-Min Webinar: Six months remain on ESSER. What’s left to do? What worked? What didn’t? What happens when it’s gone?
We take stock of what districts did and didn’t accomplish with the money, what’s left to do, and what happens when the money is gone during this 30-minute webinar.
Winding down ESSER. Is it working? What’s left to do?
Just 6 months remain on this massive federal program. While there’s still work to be done, we can already see it’s legacy taking shape. Here are a few highlights…
School Boards Face Their Most Difficult Budget Season Ever
How can school board members bring their communities along in challenging financial times? Marguerite Roza and Laura Anderson weigh in at The 74.
Did the feds just extend the ESSER deadline?
In early January 2024, the U.S. Dept. of Education sent a letter to states with the latest on the ARP ESSER extension. Here’s our take on what it all means.
How legislatures can ensure school funds do more for students
K-12 funding is the biggest line item in most state budgets. Here are five policy levers that states can pull to help districts maximize the value of every dollar for students.
Who decides what to cut? Technically school boards do
School boards face tough tradeoffs as they decide what to keep and what goes away when federal relief funds dry up. Here’s what we’ve been learning about how boards engage in making financial decisions.
30-Min Webinar: What happens to K-12 nonprofits and vendors when ESSER ends?
In this webinar we look at what nonprofits and vendors should know about the end of ESSER and market changes in the coming years.
30-Min Webinar: Mayday… Mayday… Who Will Answer the Distress Signals Appearing in Some Districts’ Data?
This webinar looks at ways to read the distress signals in district data, raise the alarm, and take steps to help “Mayday” districts.
Mayday…Mayday…Distress signals are appearing in some districts’ data
A quick look at a district’s data can show whether it’s chipping away at learning losses, how quickly ESSER is being spent down, what’s happening to enrollment and more. In a few districts, some of the numbers amount to a distress signal.
The Fiscal Cliff: Exploring the Impacts on Equity
In this webinar hosted by the National Comprehensive Center, the Edunomics Lab team explores how the end of ESSER funds may affect equity
The ESSER cliff will be worse in high-needs districts
High-poverty districts got more ESSER (which means the cliff will be steeper) and have spent their funds more slowly (leaving more to spend in the last year) than more affluent counterparts.
The ESSER fiscal cliff will have serious implications for student equity
In this analysis published by Brookings, Marguerite Roza and Katherine Silberstein show that high-poverty communities will see sharper impacts to their school budgets when ESSER ends.
The answer to: How to sustain efforts when ESSER ends?
Some ESSER-funded efforts are clearly worth saving. Doing so will require being aware of tradeoffs and making intentional choices.
Districts just approved their last ESSER-fueled budgets
With the deadline for spending ESSER approaching, now is the last chance to ensure these funds get students back on track. It also means the days of financial surplus are ending.
The Massive ESSER Experiment: Here’s what we’re learning.
With 18 months to go before ESSER ends, Katherine Silberstein and Marguerite Roza take stock of how school districts have spent their funds so far, at Education Next.
Tough finances ahead for districts. Will states come to the rescue?
Come September 2024, when ESSER runs out, districts will need to adjust annual spending down by $60B. What might that mean for employee layoffs?
District are sending large sums out the door to vendors
We estimate 20-30% of ESSER is going toward contracts for purchased services, curriculum, supplies, one-time-projects, and more. Smart contracts and smart approval processes can help ensure they deliver real value for students.
Districts play a starring role in school finance
For decades, the field of education finance has focused heavily on states (revenues, funding formulas). Now that attention is shifting to school districts’ spending choices, especially regarding federal ESSER funds.
ESSER money is now pouring into schools
School districts have two years left to spend about $5 billion a month, raising spending about 9% above normal expenditure levels. Then, the spigot shuts off.
Back to school… for school board members?
School boards are facing financial conditions unlike any before. We think practical, strategic financial skills will be particularly useful in the coming months.
A perfect storm is brewing for K-12 school district finances
Districts across the country have just inked budgets that reflect more growth in spending than any time in the past. And yet the financial outlook has never looked gloomier.
Do districts need new budget moves?
It’s that time of year, the last step in what we call “The Budget Dance,” where school boards vote on a spreadsheet that officially becomes next year’s spending plan. What steps are missing in the process?
What Are Districts Using Their Federal Relief Money for? How Fast Are They Spending It? How Much Is Left? New Interactive Database Has Answers
Because Congress directed federal relief funds to flow through states, districts file for reimbursement as the funds go out the door. In an analysis published by The 74, the Edunomics Lab team shares early results of tracking the actual spending data, district by district.
Look what the ESSER bunny brought!
Our new ESSER Expenditure Dashboard is now live. It tracks actual federal relief spending by district. We’ve got data for nearly half the states so far with more on the way.
ESSER Spending: Connecting Investments and Outcomes
In this National Comprehensive Center webinar, Edunomics Lab shared an “investment tool” to help SEAs and LEAs assess their ESSER III investments and finalize spending plans to do the most for students.
A year ago, school districts got a windfall of pandemic aid. How’s that going?
In this Brookings Chalkboard blog, Marguerite Roza and Katherine Silberstein look at the magnitude of federal relief fund spending and conclude that districts need to up the pace at which money goes out the door each month.
Talking about ESSER: Ways to Build Community Trust and Keep the Focus on Results for Students
Laura Anderson and Marguerite Roza map six ways district leaders can communicate about and help make the most of their ESSER investments.
Marguerite Roza discusses how school districts should use federal COVID-19 relief funds to improve student outcomes
In an interview with Jude Schwalbach at Reason Foundation, Marguerite Roza urges leaders to stay laser-focused on the federal relief funds’ true purpose: ameliorating learning loss and getting kids back on track.
Setting Student Progress as a North Star Would Be a Game Changer
Shifting the focus from what districts are purchasing with ESSER funds to what progress students are making would be a game changer, writes Marguerite Roza in The 74.
The North Star of schooling
Getting students back on track is what ESSER is for, right? Or is it? With no clear end goal, focused objective, or common yardstick, ESSER desperately needs a North Star.
Focus On Student Outcomes, Not How Federal Funds Are Spent
Congress attached few strings to federal relief funds and will have to trust school districts to spend the money wisely. Chad Aldeman writes in Forbes that the Feds could now help clarify what the money was for by focusing on the student outcomes that matter most.
Celebrating a wave of changes to teacher compensation
Driven by pandemic staffing challenges, many districts have embraced new pay structures. Can these approaches pave the way for more nimble compensation packages that move beyond rigid, one-size-fits-all teacher salary schedules?
5 Mistakes to Avoid When Spending COVID-Relief Funds
With $190 billion in federal relief funds going to schools, Marguerite Roza shares likely spending mistakes districts will make and some prescriptions for how to prevent them.
Public school enrollments are falling. What does that mean for district finances?
A surge of federal funds allowed districts to keep under-enrolled schools open and fully staffed in the hopes that students come back. But using funds to protect staffing may impact what is available to pay for tutoring or other programs to get students back on track.
Ed Finance Guru Marguerite Roza on How Schools Can Best Spend Covid Aid
In an interview with Rick Hess, Marguerite Roza shares her take on how school district leaders can spend COVID-19 aid wisely and well.
Do leaders have the financial skills needed for this moment?
Now more than ever, the education system depends on district leaders having financial fluency and the skills to leverage resources on behalf of students.
Six potential missteps districts might be making with federal relief funds
As leaders are knee-deep in federal relief fund planning, many are making spending choices that will exacerbate the fiscal cliff. The good news: there’s still time to change plans.
The back-to-school labor crunch
It’s a strange time in the public education labor market, and districts are having to get creative to solve their workforce challenges.
There’s a fiscal cliff coming, and some districts appear hell-bent on making it worse
Districts are right to worry about a fiscal cliff when federal relief aid runs out, cautions Marguerite Roza, but leaders have options beyond handwringing.
Wise Spending of Your Federal Relief Funds
As school districts decide how to spend their flexible federal relief funding, Marguerite Roza and Chad Aldeman offer five key questions to help ensure they make the most of it for students.
The scramble to get community input on ARP spending
While the feds aren’t telling districts what to do with the money, they are telling them that they’d better make decisions with their communities.
5 Ways Principals Can Make Federal Relief Money Matter More For Their Students
Marguerite Roza and Laura Anderson map five ways principals can help make the most of the American Rescue Plan dollars, in a blog published by the National Association of Elementary School Principals.
Will the American Rescue Plan’s ‘Meaningful Consultation’ Requirement Usher in Community Participation in School Budgets?
In Forbes, Marguerite Roza writes that the federal requirement for “meaningful consultation” on the use of ARP funds sounds like a call for participatory budgeting, and wonders whether it could prompt a new level of civic engagement in school spending.
Congress Provided Billions To Schools. Will Districts Spend It Creatively?
In this Forbes commentary, Chad Aldeman explains how the American Recovery Plan differs from past federal relief efforts for schools, and what that means for state and district leaders looking to make these one-time dollars count.
The clock is ticking. Help is on the way
Districts have until the end of the summer to submit plans on how they’ll spend their one-time federal relief funds. Planning for these new dollars is an incredible challenge. And the stakes are high.
Smart ways to cover the coming ‘year of ed finance’
Marguerite Roza offers six tips for reporters on covering how school districts choose to spend $122 billion in flexible American Rescue Plan funds, the biggest onetime federal payout to schools ever.
Early Analysis of State ARP Plans
Using a financial lens, the Edunomics Lab team offers an early analysis of state education agency plans for using ARP funds.
Let Schools, Not District Offices, Decide How to Spend Some Federal Aid
In this Education Next commentary, Marguerite Roza and Jessica Swanson suggest that districts give a portion of federal relief dollars directly to schools to decide how best to spend on behalf of their students.
Billions of Federal Funds Are Coming to Schools. How Should They Spend Them?
Adding staff has been the main “big bet” in public education for decades. With new federal relief aid heading to schools, will district leaders meet the moment with new and different ideas for what students need now?
Spending federal funds: Insights & opportunities
How are school districts spending their federal relief funds? That’s the question of the month… or perhaps the year! Here are three big trends we’re seeing so far…
30-Min Webinar: Federal Funds Are Flowing! What We’re Finding
In this webinar, we take the pulse on school districts’ early ESSER spending plans to share some of the patterns we’re seeing.
Spending federal aid, military v. ed, & grants for NERD$
Our team has been fielding lots of requests about how to use the highly flexible federal relief dollars. With flexibility comes lots of responsibility to get it right. Toward that end, we recommend five key principles to guide spending decisions.
Best- and worst-case scenarios for how school stimulus dollars will be spent
Will an unprecedented federal infusion of money lead to an unprecedented recovery effort? In this Thomas B. Fordham Institute blog, Chad Aldeman considers the range of possibilities.
With federal relief dollars on the way, districts face big decisions
In this Education Next commentary, Marguerite Roza and Chad Aldeman suggest that it’s a good time for leaders to employ the classic “would you rather” test to help explore spending tradeoffs and think through the cost and value of competing investments.
Upcoming webinar, fun with charts & more
What’s going on with district finances? The answer: it depends. Districts that have been operating in-person since the fall have faced new costs, while districts that have been fully remote for the last year appear to be saving money on staff and facilities.
30-Min Webinar: The New Federal Aid Package
In this webinar we answer early questions about the new federal relief funds for education and share the latest financial updates and what they mean for state and district leaders in the coming months.
Tips & tools to navigate ed finance in 2021
2021 is guaranteed to be tumultuous for public education finances! As we march forward, Edunomics Lab has several resources to help leaders navigate the unstable landscape ahead.
The financial landscape and what it means for public education
In this series of 30-minute webinars, Marguerite Roza shares what we are learning as the financial outlook for public education evolves and implications for states and districts as they make financial plans for the coming weeks and year.
