Board of Ed for June: budget update

 Bill Bell: update on working "with a business partner" on implementing pandemic relief and how working on SOA goals
ooh, there's a presentation
FY22:
$219.6M Ch. 70 increase; $28.2M circuit breaker increase
new state funding for early college, c/t ed, adult basic ed, COVID 

awaiting final conference committee budget for FY23
expect to close to half a billion dollar increase in Ch. 70; $60+M circuit breaker
additional resources on impacts of education due to COVID

Simone Lynch on federal COVID relief:
$3B to administer
CARES Act expiring Sept. 30
ESSER II: expires Sept. 2023
ESSER III: expires Sept. 2024 

Chart on timely of spending of the three ESSER lines pic.twitter.com/OUrqicRUGE

— Tracy O'Connell Novick (@TracyNovick) June 28, 2022

ESSER to 399 local agencies

Pulled from 1200 budgets (400 LEAs times 3 ESSER grants)

summarized into categories

(note that spending can change)

Chart as pulled from district budgets on three rounds of ESSER spending as PLANNED (important note) by #MAEdu pic.twitter.com/7bMlyYQE4l

— Tracy O'Connell Novick (@TracyNovick) June 28, 2022

now a chart of percentages of districts in each category: note that DESE sent money to each district for mental health and the fed requires a set aside for unfinished learning

Fernández: where we're hearing about mental health shortages, concerns about shortages
Craven: $1.8B "still out there"
"very significant percentage" as compared to Ch. 70
Peyser: "much of it is unclaimed" but when we say "unclaimed" it means not drawn down as yet
Bell: "performance accountability" focused on 
Komal Bhasin: overview of how Student Opportunity Act funds "were spent this year"
...which is an increase in Ch. 70 aid
expected to see "whole picture"
"this is rough data after districts have revised their plan amendments"
this is now divided up into what the Department called their "evidence-based program areas"
we're now going to have a discussion which is completely removed from the fact that this was a resolution to a chronic underfunding of core areas of public education which districts are now making up for
West asks about tutoring
Bhasin: "it's been really important to us" on implementation of the plan
Hills: question on how many districts "have allocated below a reasonable total" on their federal spending?
I don't understand this question
Bell: I don't think we have a true standard of where a district should be
Hills: "if you were to pick a percent with some degree of arbitrariness, are there districts that are below that percent"
Bell: would be hesitant to give one; ongoing monitoring is a function of the Department
don't think there's really an concern with districts being on pace to use the funding
on SOA; to ensure districts both fully draw but also effectively meet their requirements to spend state dollars 
and Peyser cites the federal tracker online
Moriarty: hazy on the SOA plans
Bhasin: asked for updates including level of implementation 
Lombos: some of our conversations about budget
would love focus on DEI in consultants and budgets
"want to be sure we are operationalizing our concern for DEI in our budgets"