"The toll of the book banning movement is getting worse," Suzanne Nossel, Chief Executive Officer of PEN America said in a statement. "...opponents of free expression are pushing harder than ever to exert their power over students as a whole."
Pandemic relief funds have been a game changer for districts desperate for the resources necessary to continue high-quality instruction amid teacher shortages and other issues. But leaders' spending habits will change once these funds run dry, a new survey suggests.
"Time is running out," reads a new report from The Education Trust. Districts have millions of ESSER dollars left to spend. Some have managed these funds poorly. Here's how to ensure you're prepared once these resources are eliminated.
Gov. Josh Shapiro acknowledged that talks had deadlocked over a $100 million voucher program, which he had supported and which state Senate Republicans passed as part of their budget proposal last week.
"Many districts throughout the state will be passing deficit budgets, because they are facing the same challenges," said Austin ISD CFO Ed Ramos. "Teachers are leaving the profession. Employees are making the decision whether or not to stay in their districts."
Leaders are determined to extend academic recovery, but they're also preparing to cut new staff that has been hired to beef up instruction and scrambling to find the funding to sustain effective programs.
Hourly workers—bus drivers, custodians, substitute teachers—are the backbone of K12 schools. One of the most important ways administrators can retain them is by providing consistent, accurate and timely pay.
Districts are now spending ESSER money at a rate of $5 billion a month, a pace that will exhaust the funds by the 2024 deadline, according to the Edunomics Lab at Georgetown University.
Many superintendents and their teams are now facing the challenge of talking about layoffs, the elimination of programs and other spending shocks as the ESSER deadline approaches.
