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School districts need assurances NOW their budgets will be held harmless through the end of the school year. Not doing so harms students. Let me explain why. 1/
@SenLarryTaylor @DadePhelan @LtGovTX @DanPatrick @GovAbbott @GregAbbott_TX @teainfo https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2021/01/27/texas-schools-need-to-show-efforts-in-finding-missing-students-to-secure-millions-in-funding-some-lawmakers-say/
@SenLarryTaylor @DadePhelan @LtGovTX @DanPatrick @GovAbbott @GregAbbott_TX @teainfo https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2021/01/27/texas-schools-need-to-show-efforts-in-finding-missing-students-to-secure-millions-in-funding-some-lawmakers-say/
The $ is available. CARES $ was given to TX, & so far TX leadership has chosen to use that $ to *supplant* regular ed $ rather than *supplement* it to meet the extraordinary financial challenges districts face this year. 2/
Nonetheless, superhero teachers across the state have worked their tails off to provide online & in-person classes. Reducing funding mid-year forces districts to a) dip into reserves (which are needed on-hand for other adversities such as natural disasters) or b) cut staff. 3/
Teachers are already spread woefully thin this year, with too many sick &/or quarantined from Covid and not enough substitutes to be found. This would be especially detrimental to student learning because… 4/
Enrollment losses are generally not concentrated in one school, but rather spread out over a district. Therefore, one cannot simply cut a staff member from one school and it not affect everyone else…in the school nor in the district. 5/
Staff cuts would affect all schools, creating overcrowded classes and exacerbating teacher workloads…in the middle of a pandemic. This is detrimental to effective student learning. 6/
It’s not a reasonable expectation that districts could have anticipated how much enrollment losses there would be to adjust budgets before the school year began. 7/
And now some are saying that districts need to prove they’ve been looking for their missing students...DESPITE NOT RECEIVING ANY EXTRA FUNDING TO DO SO. 8/
Remember, the CARES funding was only used to supplant regular funding, teachers are facing their own quarantining situations, and administrators are filling in their gaps because there are not enough substitutes to be found. 9/
My kids’ teachers are at their school giving morning tutorials before 8am, and often giving feedback and grading work into the late evening. This, on top of miraculously creating a parallel virtual curriculum to accompany their in-person one. 10/
IT IS FUNDAMENTALLY INSULTING AND DISRESPECTFUL to suggest teachers need to prove they’re working even harder or they’re going to be put into a position of higher class loads. While literally putting their lives at risk to do these things. 11/
Give assurances that hold harmless funding will continue through this unprecedented challenging school year, NOW. Give schools the CARES Act funding that was allocated to them. AND give schools the forthcoming stimulus funding. 12/
Our teachers deserve this, and more importantly, our kids do. End/
