Just as COVID-relief aid is set to expire this fall, some states are also looking to shed weight from their own budgets, including in K-12 education.
Although districts were advised against spending the majority of their relief funds on staff wages, some forged ahead anyway鈥攆acing seemingly insurmountable needs to help students make up lost ground academically and address their mental health needs.
Now, many positions鈥攊ncluding teaching jobs鈥攁re at risk of elimination as districts face the double whammy of relief funds drying up and states holding the line on school aid.
In a field that has been fraught with mounting hardships since the pandemic, it鈥檚 no surprise that the looming threat of funding cuts and layoffs has been hardly well-received among educators.
Here鈥檚 a closer look at what readers had to say in reaction to recent EdWeek articles about the financial difficulties districts are facing.
鈥榃hat Else Is New?鈥�
鈥淲e are already conditioned to not having what we need. What else is new?鈥�
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鈥淪tates cut schools when times are good, and cut schools when times are bad.鈥�
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No More 鈥榃asteful Spending鈥�
鈥淗onestly spending in education has gotten frivolous and the kids don鈥檛 seem to benefit anymore. Wasteful spending in education has to go.鈥�
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鈥淲e teachers are given everything we need yet reading scores get lower and lower and math is abysmal. We do not need more money to teach!鈥�
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Are We Spending How We Should?
鈥淭hen it鈥檚 time to cut all sports funding beyond what the sports teams can raise themselves through fundraising.鈥�
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鈥淚f they really want to benefit kids, they鈥檇 build new schools. With 30 plus students in a classroom, and a lack of discipline in kids, it鈥檚 a miracle they are doing as well as they are.鈥�
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Let鈥檚 Cut the 鈥楩luffy ... Positions鈥�
鈥淢aybe get rid of the fluffy central office positions鈥�
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鈥淭hey need to stop funding SEL positions and focus on core competencies鈥�
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