Education overall has $30B set aside for it, of which $13.5B is set aside in K-12 grants to states:
This grant is distributed to states based on their share of ESEA Title I-A funds. State education agencies will then distribute at least 90% of funds to school districts and public charter schools based on their share of Title I-A funds. State agencies may choose to use a portion or all of the remaining K-12 funds to respond to emergency needs as determined by the state agency.There is also $3B in the Governor's Education Relief Fund, which each Governor will receive a share of to use in everything from early ed to higher ed.
Note that there are also higher ed allocations, so the totals overall are much higher, but recognize the needs of colleges and universities, as well.
The Massachusetts share, from the Congressional Research Service, is projected to be approximately $51M for the Governor's fund and $214M for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund.
There's of course no telling how Governor Baker will choose to allocate the $51M, so let's set that aside for the time being.
Of the $214M, at least 90% has to go to districts, so that's $193M.
And that's...less than the $300M that Ch.70 was going up by in the FY21 budget for this coming year.
Now, we don't actually know that this is going to be allocated for FY21; the Act itself doesn't specify, and the NCSL says this:
Funds to local districts can be used for coronavirus-response activities, such as planning for and coordinating during long-term school closures, purchasing educational technology to support online learning for all students, and additional activities authorized by federal elementary and secondary education laws....which kind of sounds like this year, if it rolled out quickly enough.
The states are not allowed to use this funding to backfill their own usual funding to schools UNLESS there is a "a precipitous decline in financial resources.”
And that, of course, brings us back to the hearing on Tuesday at 10: are we expected "a precipitous decline in financial resources" for next year?
Does that mean the state fulfills its constitutional obligations ahead of other commitments? In other words, is this a hold harmless and minimum aid year, or do we look first to foundation aid?
And if we are going to have a "precipitous decline," are we still trying to implement the Student Opportunity Act next year? And should we? Is it really fair to anyone to pretend that is what we're doing?
Because it doesn't feel to me as though we are, really.
Should we, perhaps, we targeting the federal funds to the places that we think will have the greatest losses due to the extended school closure?
1 comment:
Tracy, I always appreciate reading your blog posts. Your insight and expansive knowledge on Education is especially helpful during these uncertain fiscal times. Thank you for sharing and thank you for posing the questions. I hope we can keep the focus on just how critical it is to maintain the vision and funding of the SOA .
Dawn Byers
School Committee Member
Whitman-Hanson Regional School District
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