The primary effect on school districts and state educational agencies of the federal budget stalemate for FY 2022 is the inability to plan for the next school year, said Julia Martin, legislative director of Brustein & Manasevit PLLC, in Washington, D.C.
House and Senate Democratic leaders have announced plans to push for a second continuing resolution that will extend funding into next year. The current resolution will expire Dec. 3. However, local educational agencies and SEAs are starting to plan their SY 2022-23 budgets now.
Although no one will lose federal educational money already authorized, next year’s revenue from ESEA grants will be difficult to predict. “Everybody would get at least what they’re getting now,” Martin said.
The White House proposed doubling the Title I budget for FY 2022. Those increases would go into different areas of the funding formula, Martin said.
Whenever Congress adopts the fiscal year 2022 budget, it may include some or all the increases President Joe Biden proposed, creating a different challenge for states and districts.
“They would have to work quickly to allocate the additional money,” Martin said. At the same time, they are trying to be as responsible as possible as they spend down their ESSER funds to meet both short- and long-term needs.
“With all these stimulus funds, these things have to fit together in just the right way,” Martin said. “It’s tough.”
Staff shortages and hiring challenges for schools across the country further complicate matters. Not enough bus drivers with commercial driver’s licenses are available. Nor are there other people who can meet districts’ standards to fill other roles, such as teachers for specialized courses like high school physics.
So few qualified teachers are available nationwide that merely offering more money from increases to Title I or ESSER will not solve staff shortages, Martin said.
Head Start and Impact Aid
Failure to pass a continuing resolution beyond Dec. 3 would result in a shutdown of federal agencies, including the U.S. Education Department. While most K-12 federal education programs would not see an immediate effect from a federal shutdown, as they are forward funded, programs like Head Start and Impact Aid that are funded on a current-year basis could see an interruption in services if Congress fails to approve FY 2022 appropriations bills or pass a continuing resolution, she said.
Many school districts run Head Start programs, but Head Start tends to be a small part of their district budgets, Martin said. In some states, Head Start is run by different agencies, not LEAs. Head Start increases proposed for 2022 just about keep up with inflation, she said.
Impact Aid is a fairly small federal education program.
“A significant number of districts get some Impact Aid,” Martin said. However, only a few districts’ budgets are funded by a significant portion of Impact Aid, she said.
Dayna Straehley covers best practices for Title I and other school funding issues for LRP Publications.
