Next year's school district budgets will be locked in this spring. After that, influencing spending for 24-25 gets a lot harder.
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...
For leaders facing tight budgets, there are better and worse ways to handle the next several months.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Some ESSER-funded efforts are clearly worth saving. Doing so will require being aware of tradeoffs and making intentional choices.
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.
Edunomics Lab has commissioned lots of messaging research on district finances. Here’s some of what we’ve learned about sharing tough financial news in a way that doesn’t erode trust with staff and parents.
Come September 2024, when ESSER runs out, districts will need to adjust annual spending down by $60B. What might that mean for employee layoffs?
Upcoming cohort: September 24-25 in Washington, DC
