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Facing revenue losses and unanticipated costs due to coronavirus, the Clark County School District and dozens of other urban districts implored Congress on Tuesday to provide $202 billion in emergency funding for public schools.
The Council of the Great City Schools, a coalition of large school districts that includes Clark County, penned a letter to top congressional members asking for $175 billion in Educational Stabilization Funds that would be distributed through the Title I formula. The council also requested $13 billion in funds to support the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, $12 billion in additional Title I program funding, $2 billion for the E-Rate program that provides schools with affordable telecommunications and internet access, and additional emergency money for infrastructure.
The funds are needed to make up for unexpected costs during school closures, the council wrote. The council includes 76 school districts.
The primary new unreimbursed costs CCSD faces are for technological resources, including Chromebooks for students who lack a device at home, Superintendent Jesus Jara said on a media call Tuesday. About 60,500 Chromebooks had been deployed as of last Thursday.
“Technology is something that we’ve had a huge gap in, and I think this has really opened up everybody’s eyes in the lack of resources we’ve been able to provide for our families,” Jara said.
Jara did not provide specific dollar amounts, but he said officials are “keeping track” of all unanticipated costs. The district also expects to receive $75 million from the first federal coronavirus relief bill, the CARES Act, Jara said.
Additional federal aid would help CCSD address gaps in education that will inevitably arise during distance learning, Jara said. During school closures, teachers have only been instructed to help students review materials, rather than teach new concepts.
The district also estimates that about 100,000 CCSD students have not been in regular contact with teachers each week, according to a report provided to the Nevada Department of Education Monday.
“This money, it would be something that would be benefitting our students (and) our staff to really address I believe the academic loss we’re potentially seeing,” Jara said.
While rapidly adapting to remote learning, school districts are also contending with potential budget cuts given that local and state governments nationwide are losing revenue. That is another reason why urban school districts need more federal help, the council wrote.
In Nevada, Gov. Steve Sisolak has asked state agencies to propose 4% budget cuts for fiscal year 2020 and 6-14% cuts for fiscal year 2021, district officials said April 16. No specific education cuts have been announced yet, but a 4% cut to the state’s Distributive Schools Account for FY20 would amount to a $46.67 million reduction in funding, officials said.
It is possible that the cuts could force districts to lay off teachers, according to the council’s letter. CCSD already faces a teacher shortage and its class sizes are among the highest in the country.
“Significant revenue shortfalls are expected, and I believe that these additional federal stimulus dollars that come in directly to the local urban school systems will be something that will be needed,” Jara said.
More details on next year’s budget will be released by the end of the week, he said.
Although the district has saved some money with schools being closed, such as on transportation and utilities at school buildings, more new costs could arise as the pandemic continues. For example, CCSD is currently finalizing a plan for enhanced summer education opportunities and trying to identify specific educational gaps.
It also remains unclear whether schools will be able to resume as normal in August. The district might need to change operations to support social distancing or continue some form of remote education.
“We don’t know what the school year is going to look like,” Jara said.