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Should schools brace for big cuts in federal funds?
How will the election impact school finance? Here's what we think is on the ed finance horizon and what’s worrying us.
Big-City Districts Are Beset by Financial Dysfunction – and Kids Pay the Price
Financial dysfunction is plaguing many city school districts. What can help? Strong district leadership, state guidance, and brutal honesty about what's really going on. Marguerite Roza and Cicco weigh in at The 74.
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.
Our special ed analysis has people talking
Special Ed is consuming a growing share of public school dollars. Is it helping? We owe it to students to regularly scrutinize these dollars to see if we can do more to maximize the outcomes for them.
Using Spending & Outcomes Data in Decision-Making
Closing schools: How much money does it save, and is it worth it? In this commentary, Roza and Dhammani explore the math of school closures and outline data districts can consider in order to bring transparency to the process and ensure all students are served well. Read the commentary Closures in Seattle Public Schools: A look […]
A Financial Analysis of Public Funds Invested via ESAs, Vouchers and Tax Scholarships
This real-time financial analysis tracks state funding going into private options, to quantify how many public dollars are flowing through ESAs, vouchers, and tax credit scholarships. FY23-24 and FY 24-25 analyses available.
Which districts could return relief dollars to the Feds?
The Sept. 30 ESSER deadline is fast approaching. Which districts might miss it?
Schools have more staff than ever. Are kids benefiting?
Most districts now have more staff than ever before. Per usual, Edunomics Lab asks: Is it working? Are students benefiting?
30-Min Webinar: The Big Hire: Massachusetts’s school staffing changes
In this 30-minute webinar, we share findings from a new Edunomics Lab analysis of how staffing has changed in Massachusetts schools between 2020 and 2024.
30-Min Webinar: Are students benefiting from the rising costs of Special Ed?
In this 30-minute webinar, we share findings from Edunomics Lab's analysis of new Special Ed spending data to better understand the extent to which rising identification rates and staffing increases deliver value for students.
Why WA school budgets are getting tighter, and what can be done about it
In the Washington State Standard, Marguerite Roza and Ash Dhammani write that strategic financial leadership is more critical than ever to help communities understand tradeoffs and ensure WA state’s students get the most for every dollar.
ROI & Productivity
Measuring ROI Productivity is sometimes seen as a dirty word in education. Far from dehumanizing students and teachers as widgets, what we’re studying is the unique interplay of human factors in schooling that drive improvements and success. Our research and tools prompt the system to use productivity data—pairing spending with existing data on outcomes—to seek […]
ROI: Scatterplots
Spending vs. Outcomes by School Interactive data displays allow users to explore resource equity, how dollars are allocated to schools, and which schools are most able to leverage their money to maximize student outcomes. Click any state to explore and filter by specific districts, school characteristics, and student demographics. Darkest blue states use FY23 fiscal […]
ROI Over Time
In some states, districts have seen much larger gains for the dollar than others. Edunomics Lab analyzed ROI data to see which states have been more/less successful at making money matter more.
Can vendors help our schools?
Optimism around the ed vendor space is running high.
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.
NERD$
How have staffing and enrollment numbers changed in your state or district? This template allows you to input data to graph trends over time.
Widespread teacher shortages are over (mostly). Conditions are changing rapidly
It's more important than ever to track real-time data.
California’s school funding crisis has arrived. Here’s how leaders can dig out
With pandemic recovery funds drying up, state funds tightening, and fewer students bringing fewer dollars, many districts have no choice but to reevaluate investments, downsize and likely reduce staffing.
