New Hampshire school districts have won about $1 billion in federal aid since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The investment is intended to fund distance learning technology, HVAC upgrades, and learning loss initiatives.
But the cash is set to expire in September 2024, and some researchers warn that schools could find themselves facing an investment cliff if they don’t prepare.
A recent study of New England states by the Georgetown University Edunomics Lab, a research center, found that New Hampshire schools are on average facing a 3 percent budget cut in the next year, in part because of the loss of federal funding and in part because of a continuing drop in enrollment.
“The landscape of school investment is rapidly transforming,” Marguerite Rosa, a professor of studies and director of the Edunomics Lab, told reporters in October. “And fiscal shocks are brewing like never before. “
The difficulties will not affect school districts equally; The researchers found that schools with more low-income students will face greater budget problems. Schools with more low-income students have earned more federal money for COVID relief, but they also risk wasting larger sums if they don’t spend it.
Concord School District will likely need to reduce its budget by 2 percent to account for the loss of the COVID relief funding, researchers projected. Manchester School District, which has a higher proportion of students who qualify for free and reduced-price lunch, will face a 10 to 14 percent drop in funding, the study found.
The end of federal investment in emergency relief for elementary and secondary schools, or ESSER, may be significant for the upcoming spring school budget season. School forums are preparing to draft budgets for the 2024-2025 school year and share them with citizens for approval. at town and school meetings in March.
According to the researchers, ESSER’s money may have helped New Hampshire districts mask major disruptions with declining enrollment and delay the need for enrollment accordingly. The expected sudden loss of investment may simply force schools to hire staff, the researchers found.
In Concord, the projections suggested 11 positions might need to be cut; in Manchester, 35 to 60 positions could be at risk.
The challenge is compounded by the fact that, despite millions of dollars earned through the ESSER fund, many school districts have struggled to spend it all on time.
The study found that New Hampshire schools have spent their COVID relief money at a slower rate than the national average. And schools with higher portions of lower-income students have much more money left over than those with more higher-income students, researchers found.
According to the researchers, school districts in which more than 25% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches have an average of 69% of their budget available, and 46% of the remaining budget in districts where young people are least in need.
“With more to spend before the deadline, those districts will most likely face an even steeper fiscal cliff once the budget expires,” the researchers wrote in a presentation accompanying the report.
In total, school districts have spent 87 percent of the total amount of ESSER funding, according to a dashboard by the Department of Education.
Barrett Christina, executive director of the New Hampshire School Boards Association, said forums across the state are aware of the upcoming deadline for spending ESSER cash and will calibrate their budgets this spring to spend as much of the remaining cash as possible.
But he said it is unlikely that schools will be able to spend down all of it.
“From an economic standpoint, I don’t think 100 percent of the cash is spent,” Christina said in an interview. “But I am aware that districts and superintendents are budgeting and looking at tactics to use cash within the allowable uses. “
The COVID relief cash challenge isn’t unique to New Hampshire schools, according to Georgetown researchers. While Congress scrambled to get its hands on the cash at the height of the pandemic in 2021, schools across the country struggled to spend it effectively.
Part of the difficulty is due to the economy as a whole. ESSER’s budget was designed into a component that will be used to install or upgrade HVAC systems to improve airflow in schools, a primary fear as districts return to full-time instruction in 2021. But the source chain problems and a shortage of hard work have meant that many of those infrastructure projects have experienced major delays, preventing districts from cutting back on federal aid.
School districts have also sought to use federal aid to fund paraprofessional positions to address learning loss caused when scholars transitioned to remote learning in 2020 and 2021. But a broader difficulty in hiring and an exodus of existing teachers and paraprofessionals have made it difficult to fill them. those positions.
In New Hampshire, the end of COVID money is compounded by the phenomenon: declining enrollment. This month, the Department of Education reported that enrollment in New Hampshire public schools for the current school year has fallen 1. 4 percent from last year and 20. 5 percent since 2002. Lower enrollment means schools get less cash in state aid and federal investment programs.
Georgetown researchers say the combination of points — declining enrollment and lack of investment — means New Hampshire schools expect the toughest budget situations to present themselves in the upcoming school year.
“We’ve had bloodshed for 24 or 25 years,” Rosa said.
The state estimates that schools will have to make changes when federal cash ends.
Of the nearly $900 million budgeted across New Hampshire school districts since 2021, about 25% has been spent on workforce costs, according to the New Hampshire Department of Education. Another 25% was spent on “inspection, testing, maintenance, repair. “”Replacement and Upgrade Services”.
Christina noted that school forums that have used COVID cash to help pay for staffing costs will have to find tactics to offset the coming cash arrival, either by locating local cash to continue paying that staff or through getting rid of positions. This budget season will be the last chance to use the rest of ESSER’s cash to facilitate this exit.
Some districts may choose to use the investment for short-term expenses, such as teacher career progression.
On staffing, Christina noted that the legislature’s decision to develop the public school investment formula to provide more dollars per student could help some districts absorb some of the cuts in federal aid. But he added that staffing costs were the most important factor. Prices that school forums want to control.
“I had conversations with school board members and principals in 2020 and 2021, and I told them, ‘Be mindful of how you spend this money, because your salaries and your staff are the real drivers of your budget,'” Christina said. “I think we’ll probably see a mix. “
by Ethan DeWitt, New Hampshire Bulletin November 28, 2023
New Hampshire school districts received nearly a billion dollars in federal aid since the outbreak of COVID-19. The funding is meant to help pay for remote learning technology, HVAC upgrades, and learning loss initiatives.
But the cash is set to expire in September 2024, and some researchers warn that schools could find themselves facing an investment cliff if they don’t prepare.
A recent study of New England states through Georgetown University’s Center for Edunomics Lab Studies found that New Hampshire schools would face on average a 3% budget cut next year, partly due to lost federal investment and partly due to a continued decline in enrollment.
“The school finance landscape is shifting rapidly,” said Marguerite Rosa, a research professor and the director of the Edunomics Lab, during a briefing to reporters in October. “And there’s fiscal shocks coming that we haven’t ever seen before.”
The difficulties will not affect school districts equally; The researchers found that schools with more low-income students will face greater budget problems. Schools with more low-income students have earned more federal money for COVID relief, but they also risk wasting larger sums if they don’t spend it.
Most likely, the Concord School District will have to cut its budget by 2% to make up for the loss of COVID relief funds, the researchers projected. The Manchester School District, which has a growing proportion of pupils eligible for reduced- or flexible-priced lunch, will face a funding cut of between 10 and 14 cents, according to the study.
The end of federal investment in emergency relief for elementary and secondary schools, or ESSER, may be significant for the upcoming spring school budget season. School forums are preparing to draft budgets for the 2024-2025 school year and share them with citizens for approval. at town and school meetings in March.
According to researchers, the ESSER money may have helped New Hampshire districts mask bigger problems with declining enrollment and delay the need to downsize accordingly. The anticipated sudden loss of funding could require schools to reduce personnel, the researchers found.
In Concord, projections indicated that 11 positions are being cut; In Manchester, between 35 and 60 jobs could be at risk.
The challenge is compounded by the fact that, despite millions of dollars earned through the ESSER fund, many school districts have struggled to spend it all on time.
The study found that New Hampshire schools have spent their COVID relief money at a slower rate than the national average. And schools with higher portions of lower-income students have much more money left over than those with more higher-income students, researchers found.
According to the researchers, school districts where more than 25% of students qualify for a free or reduced-price lunch have an average of 69% of their budget available, compared to 46% of the remaining budget in districts where young people need it the least. .
“With more to spend up against the deadline, these districts are at risk of a steeper fiscal cliff once the funds expire,” the researchers wrote in a presentation accompanying the report.
Overall, districts spent 87 percent of the total amount of ESSER funding, according to a Department of Education dashboard.
Barrett Christina, executive director of the New Hampshire School Boards Association, said school boards across the state are aware of the coming deadline to spend the ESSER money, and will be calibrating their budgets this spring to spend down as much of the remaining money as they can.
But he said it is unlikely that schools will be able to spend down all of it.
“From an economic standpoint, I don’t think 100 percent of the money is spent,” Christina said in an interview. “But I do know that districts and superintendents are budgeting and looking for ways to use the money within the allowable uses. “
The COVID relief cash challenge isn’t unique to New Hampshire schools, according to Georgetown researchers. While Congress scrambled to get its hands on the cash at the height of the pandemic in 2021, schools across the country struggled to spend it effectively.
Part of the difficulty is due to the economy as a whole. ESSER’s budget was designed into a component that will be used to install or upgrade HVAC systems to improve airflow in schools, a primary fear as districts return to full-time instruction in 2021. But the source chain problems and a shortage of hard work have meant that many of those infrastructure projects have experienced major delays, preventing districts from cutting back on federal aid.
School districts have also sought to use federal aid to fund paraprofessional positions to address learning loss caused when scholars transitioned to remote learning in 2020 and 2021. But a broader difficulty in hiring and an exodus of existing teachers and paraprofessionals have made it difficult to fill them. those positions.
In New Hampshire, the end of COVID money is compounded by the phenomenon: declining enrollment. This month, the Department of Education reported that enrollment in New Hampshire public schools for the current school year has fallen 1. 4 percent from last year and 20. 5 percent since 2002. Lower enrollment means schools get less cash in state aid and federal investment programs.
Georgetown researchers say that combination of factors – enrollment drops and funding lapses – means New Hampshire schools should expect the hardest budgeting conditions to arrive in the next coming school year.
“We’ve had 24 or 25 years of bloodshed,” Rosa said.
The state estimates that schools will have to make changes when federal cash ends.
Of the nearly $900 million budgeted across New Hampshire school districts since 2021, about 25% has been spent on workforce costs, according to the New Hampshire Department of Education. Another 25% was spent on “inspection, testing, maintenance, repair. “”Replacement and Upgrade Services”.
Christina noted that school forums that have used COVID cash to help pay for staffing costs will have to find tactics to offset the coming cash arrival, either by locating local cash to continue paying that staff or through getting rid of positions. This budget season will be the last chance to use the rest of ESSER’s cash to facilitate this exit.
Some districts may choose to use the investment for short-term expenses, such as instructor professional development.
As for staffing, Christina noted that the legislature’s decision to develop the public school investment formula to provide more dollars per student could help some districts absorb some of the cuts in federal aid. But he added that staffing costs were the most important factor. Prices that school forums want to control.
“I had conversations with school board members and principals in 2020 and 2021, and I told them, ‘Be mindful of how you spend this money, because your salaries and your staff are the real drivers of your budget,'” Christina said. “I think we’ll probably see a mix. “
The New Hampshire Bulletin is owned by States Newsroom, a network of grant-backed news bureaus and a coalition of donors as a 501c public charity(3). The New Hampshire Bulletin maintains its editorial independence. Please contact Editor Dana Wormald if you have any questions: info@newhampshirebulletin. com. Follow the New Hampshire Bulletin on Facebook and Twitter.
Ethan DeWitt is the New Hampshire Bulletin’s education reporter. Previously, he worked as the New Hampshire State House reporter for the Concord Monitor, covering the state, the Legislature, and the New Hampshire presidential primary. A Westmoreland native, Ethan started his career as the politics and health care reporter at the Keene Sentinel. Email: [email protected]
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