Public school systems are beginning to feel the pinch from enrollment losses tied to the coronavirus pandemic.
FILE — Joy Harrison instructs her second graders at Carl B. Munck Elementary School, in Oakland, Calif,, Aug. 11, 2021. Oakland is closing seven schools. MISSION, Kan. — A school system in suburban Kansas City is eliminating over 100 jobs, including kindergarten aides and library clerks. Oakland, California, is closing seven schools. Other districts around the country are merging classrooms, selling buildings and leaving teaching positions unfilled in order to close budget gaps.
Now it is trimming millions of dollars from its budgets because enrollment, having peaked at more than 30,000 students in fall 2019, fell by around 900 in the first full school year of the pandemic. Less than 100 of those students have returned. More districts will be making cuts in coming years, said Alex Spurrier, an associate partner at Bellwether Education Partners, a think tank. The last of the federal aid must be spent by 2024.
“That might sound crazy,” the district wrote in a blog post, acknowledging the influx of federal aid. But it explained that enrollment declines have accelerated amid the pandemic, with the student population falling to 73,000 from 85,000 in just six years. The district hasn’t released a cost-cutting plan but legislative analysts say it will require layoffs and school closures.
School officials in the city of Lawrence — home to the main University of Kansas campus — are creating multi-grade level elementary classrooms, which will allow the district to get by with fewer teachers. It is part of an effort to close a budget shortfall brought on by declining enrollment and to free up money for raises.
Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
The pandemic erased a decade of public preschool gains - Alaska Public MediaNearly 300,000 fewer children were enrolled in preschool during the 2020-2021 school year compared to 2019-2020 — an 18% drop. “The pandemic wiped out a decade of progress increasing enrollment in state-funded preschool programs,” the report warns.
Read more »
Headcounts are down at public schools. Now budgets are too.Public school systems are beginning to feel the pinch from enrollment losses tied to the coronavirus pandemic
Read more »
Headcounts are down at public schools. Now budgets are too.MISSION, Kan. (AP) — A school system in suburban Kansas City is eliminating over 100 jobs, including kindergarten aides and library clerks. Oakland, California, is closing seven schools. Other districts around the country are merging classrooms, selling buildings and leaving teaching positions unfilled in order to close budget gaps.
Read more »
Headcounts are down at public schools. Now budgets are too.Public school systems across the country are beginning to feel the pinch from enrollment losses tied to the pandemic.
Read more »
Headcounts are down at public schools. Now budgets are too.🏫 Public school systems are beginning to feel the pinch from enrollment losses tied to the coronavirus pandemic.
Read more »
Headcounts are down at public schools. Now budgets are too.Public school systems are beginning to feel the pinch from enrollment losses tied to the coronavirus pandemic.
Read more »