FYI from BSF, 03.26.21

Some things we read through this week...

The Other Stimulus Check

No, this one didn’t arrive through direct deposit, or bank cards in the mail.

This stimulus check is going to schools, school districts, and state agencies across the country.  An unprecedented, one-time investment in education.  

But, what if we thought of this not as billions of dollars going into systems?  Not as $461M going to Boston Public Schools?  What if we thought of the multiple tranches of federal and local funds in the last year as this: 

Federal aid is the core of our latest post on the BPS budget.  For anyone who missed it or didn’t have time, below is the Cliffs Notes version of our fourth release in our budget series.  For those who want extra credit, you can download the deck or take 9 more minutes to read our Medium post.

As usual, it is a technical story, but we’ll distill it down to three plot points.

That Is a Lot of Money

Like, a real lot.  Like if someone in your house suddenly got a 33% raise.

A Long Shopping List

Aside from holding back 20% for learning loss, districts have a lot flexibility in how and when they spend the money.  The shortlist of acceptable uses: ed tech, cleaning and building stuff, mental health, extended time, maintaining staffing and service levels, and work targeted for historically marginalized communities.

But, just as importantly, districts can choose to spread the spending out through 2024.  As of this writing, BPS has not yet spent all of its additional FY21 dollars.  The money is being pushed into future years, with a pretty small and not detailed plan for 2021-2022.  

Who Balances the Check Book?

With a unanimous vote, Boston School Committee approved the BPS FY22 budget on Wednesday. 

But the Committee didn’t vote on most of the $461M in question.  School districts typically draw down federal funds through a granting process, with the state serving as a pass-through of sorts.  School Committee doesn’t review or vote on this.  City Council doesn’t review or vote on this.  They just consent to accepting and releasing funds at a later date (like this example, releasing federal special education dollars).

So, the plans and intended uses of these funds - massive, once-in-a-generation funds - have virtually no oversight.  And, to date, no plan.

Whether or not they know it, each Boston Public Schools family has received almost $10,000 for each of their children.

There is a surprisingly wide, national consensus on the importance and urgency of education now.  The clearest ideas are not complex.  Educational experts and families (as measured in countless surveys) agree.

More time, probably in the summer.  Counseling.  Tutors.  Targeted building upgrades.  Training for teachers and curriculum and assessment tools.  Enhanced family communication.

This spring and in future years, families and students should see what their $10,000 got them.  

And be able to ask for it if they don’t.

Reopening in Boston, MA, and Beyond

Hot on the heels of the CDC’s guidance that three desk spacing is adequate in many cases, Boston requested more time to reopen schools.  Boston and many other districts received extensions.  Now, Boston will open for K0-8 on April 26th.  

But what students will return and to what?  Data and compelling narratives tell the story of the racial divide in returning to school.  

Massachusetts reported 910 school-based COVID-19 cases this week, the highest level in almost 3 months.  Pretty sure Swampscott didn’t help those numbers.

With a new federal administration, we are getting increasingly clear and transparent information about schools.  Homeschooling is up.  Data disparities are real.  

Education 2021

The big news of the week was the resignation of Mayor Walsh, and the commencement of a successor, now Acting Mayor Kim Janey. For the first time in our history, the city is helmed by a Black, female leader. Acting Mayor Janey’s experience with education was highlighted by the New York Times and on her first day on the job, when she visited the school she was bused to as a child, the soon-to-be-closed Clarence Edwards Middle School in Charlestown.

Other Matters

After the budget vote, School Committee reviewed new high school standards aligned to more rigorous state requirements.  This left an open question: what would that mean for graduation rates, which spiked last year when schools were remote and competency requirements were waived?

When this was raised, Superintendent Cassellius asserted that standardized tests have “no basis.”  President Biden’s Secretary of Education disagrees.