FYI from BSF, 12.17.21
Early Resolutions
2022 began early with a discussion of next year’s Boston Public Schools budget at the Boston School Committee meeting on Wednesday.
After some other business, including the vote to officially close three schools, the Committee heard its annual report on finances.
There are three things we should be planning to watch in 2022.
1. Enrollment
Enrollment dominated a significant portion of the presentation. Rightfully. Boston distributes money to its schools based on enrollment and demography/programs (“weighted student funding”) and enrollment is a driver for federal and state aid.
There is no longer any question that the district has lost enrollment, and likely will continue to next year (page 21). The question is by how much and what will be done about it.
Accuracy is a growing problem. The city has projected enrollment declines (which include Horace Mann charters) each year since 2016 - but not by enough.
The discrepancies predate the pandemic, which only accelerated the issue. Actual enrollment coming in lower than projections exacerbates the problems of decline.
What does this mean?
Most schools aren’t able to afford the staffing and programs given their enrollment, requiring the city to kick extra dollars to maintain the schools. This is what is referred to as “soft landings,” which BPS stated they would maintain again this year.
2. ESSER
Will an increase in soft landings create a budget crunch?
Most likely not, given the additional $400M+ from the federal government (in three tranches, commonly referred to as “ESSER”).
Boston has applied for and received about $155M of those dollars. The first round of $32M was spent on immediate response, operations, and soft landings last year and in the spring of 2020.
A quick scan of the second ESSER budget that the city submitted shows that tens of millions of dollars can be allocated to cover salaries or given directly to schools (and be used to offset soft landings as needed).
Based on the report at School Committee, very little of this money has been received by or spent by schools. Boston is not an anomaly here - only 11% of the second round of federal dollars have been spent in Massachusetts school districts.
In sum, the money is there. It is just a question of whether the city will use this one-time infusion of funds to plug holes or recover and invest.
Boston chose the former for use of federal funds in response to the Great Recession.
That didn’t work.
3. Oversight
It is unclear what 2022 will bring for Boston School Committee itself. With two members not seeking another term, Mayor Wu now has the opportunity to seat the majority of School Committee members at the beginning of her first term. That has big implications for the coming city and BPS budget, but it is unclear what lies beyond given the question of when and by how much Boston will move to an elected committee.
The school department is exactly that, a department of a larger city budget. The fiscal health of the school system inevitably affects other department budgets.
Due to the unusually early timing of the start of the new administration, it will be soon clear whether or not education will be a top priority.
Reopening Boston, MA and Beyond
COVID-19 cases remain high in schools in Boston and Massachusetts. Calls for statewide mask mandates and increased safety standards are being met in Boston by more resources for testing. Concerns among families seem to be on the rise nationally.
Despite daily, almost hourly, warnings that vaccination is the only way to address the oncoming Omicron wave, fewer than 1 of 3 Boston school children aged 5-11 have started vaccination. LA has dropped its vaccine mandate, for now.
Special education services and school safety continue to attract attention. There appears to be a lot of confusion around English learner services.
The push for more outside recess has been delayed.
Enrollment decline is not unique to Boston PK-12. You see it all around the country. There are big pressures in early childhood in Boston, too.
The 74 has a compelling list of data visualizations, telling the story of 2021 from redlining to interrupted learning, which, research shows, has affected Black children more than their white peers.
What if it doesn’t pay to go to (some) college(s)? Full report here.
Other Matters
Every so often I write that I am as surprised as anyone that what started as a short email to 7 people has grown into this massive weekly newsletter. Thanks for reading, and for your questions and suggestions. After a holiday break, expect us back in your inbox on January 7th.
This is only a slice of work that the BSF team does every day.
In the face of many challenges, more Boston children are attending high-quality schools, more families are using Boston School Finder (by the way, BPS pre-registration just opened), and the public conversation on schools, resources, and academic and social-emotional learning has fundamentally shifted. BSF is proud to have played its part in 2021. If you haven’t already, read more by clicking below. Best wishes for the close of this year, and the start of a new one.