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The Final Sprint

September 30th is the deadline for school districts to spend down their pandemic relief funds. Some districts have large balances still remaining. Will any end up returning ESSER dollars to the Feds?

New & Notable

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Newsletter

Which districts could return relief dollars to the Feds? The Sept. 30 deadline is fast approaching...

WA spending and reading scores graph 2013-2023

Analysis

Why WA school budgets are getting tighter, and what can be done about it

Analysis

Closing schools: How much money does it save, and is it worth it?

Featured Research, Data, & Analysis

Time To Change the District Budget Dance

Getting maximum value from available dollars is imperative, and may require some changes to the traditional budget process, writes Marguerite Roza in School Business Affairs Magazine.

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Are students benefiting from the rising costs of special ed?

With new data emerging, we took a fresh look at special ed spending to better understand the extent to which rising identification rates and staffing increases deliver value for students. State-by-state comparisons make it clear that systems are making different choices when it comes to serving students with disabilities and those choices are delivering wildly different results for students.

Learn more about our findings

Most districts now have more staff than ever before

Federal relief funds triggered a hiring frenzy (which then triggered a staffing shortage). In the states where we’ve combed through the data, we see a big jump in non-teaching specialists and aides. Teachers are up too (albeit at a smaller proportionate increase), as are administrators. Per usual, Edunomics Lab asks: Is it working? Are students benefiting?

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Widespread teacher shortages are mostly over (for now)

District conditions are changing rapidly. While federal relief funds triggered mass hiring, those funds are ending. Now, districts must find ways to shrink their budgets and their staff rolls. It’s more important than ever to track real-time data.

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