The spending deadline for pandemic relief has officially passed, but school districts have prepared for this moment, one expert says. Now, it’s time for districts to turn to other sources of funding.
Unfortunately, most districts won’t have anywhere to turn to fill in the gaps that ESSER helped fill, says Marguerite Roza, director of Georgetown University’s Edunomics Lab. The cold hard truth is that leaders are now facing tighter budgets moving forward.
“In the absence of new funds, we suggest leaders re-examine long-running spending patterns with fresh eyes to decide whether those investments are delivering real value for students,” she suggests.
For instance, if math and reading scores have fallen year after year, it might be time to re-evaluate investments in smaller class sizes or support staff. Instead, look into more targeted investments for those students who need them, or purchase higher-quality reading and math curricula.
Cathy Cruzan, president of Funds for Learning, believes districts have made financial plans to cope with the end of ESSER.
“I think districts are prepared,” says Cruzan. “It doesn’t mean it’s going to make it any easier, but the districts have been planning for this. They knew this cliff was coming.”
How E-Rate can help
Technology upgrades have become a major priority in many districts since the pandemic. For instance, ESSER funding fueled large investments in vendor contracts, which include tech-related purchases. In fact, some 20-30% of ESSER spending was used for curriculum, supplies, one-time projects and tech upgrades, data from Georgetown University’s Edunomics Lab suggests.
Internet connectivity and access to materials were also a priority for school leaders. Thankfully, Cruzan says, administrators can now use E-Rate for such purchases, which is one of the few funding sources leaders will be able to leverage post-ESSER. In July, the Federal Communications Commission approved legislation that will allow students to obtain Wi-Fi hotspots through their schools, giving them internet access at home.
Cruzan says E-Rate will become a necessity for many districts going forward.
“I think they [technology directors] have to look at these other sources of funding, E-Rate in particular, because of its reliability and the potential there with some of these new programs for, let’s hope, some efforts to expand it a little bit,” she says. “E-Rate may be that critical band-aid for a lot of the technology budgets going forward.”
The FCC is also launching the Schools and Libraries Cybersecurity Pilot Program, which will provide up to $200 million to selected participants over three years to purchase cybersecurity services and equipment.
“Smaller school districts probably don’t have dedicated staff for managing cybersecurity and that’s a challenge we’re seeing, and schools are a target,” says Cruzan. “They have a lot of data that criminals want.”
While this is a pilot program, she encourages leaders to apply for it as the FCC is looking for a diverse set of applicants. Applicants close on Nov. 1.
Above all, Cruzan says schools should seriously look into applying for E-rate funding as many of them have yet to utilize its Category Two services. This includes the infrastructure that supports purchases for things like network equipment and other resources necessary to maintain online instruction in and outside the classroom.
