FYI from BSF, 6.28.24
Thank You
With another school-year in the books, I want to close 2023-2024 with a note of thanks. This newsletter has become a larger endeavor and platform than I could have ever imagined. It is pretty fun to write, and equally validating (and humbling) to see thousands of people read it every week.
Even with the closing of BSF, I will continue to write. I learn a lot from that process, and I hope others do, too. Some time between now and December the newsletter will shift over to another platform/format, and, when it does, I hope you will continue to read, click, forward, comment, and question as you have done for so many years now.
Longtime readers know the education news volume turns down a bit in the summer months, but you can still expect at least a weekly round-up of articles most Friday mornings.
Closing Time
The municipal fiscal year ends today, so it is fitting to see news about money.
Settled research for some time, but two new studies make the case that more funding for schools is correlated with more student learning. The unprecedented deployment of $190B to schools in response to the COVID-19 pandemic created a bit of a natural experiment.
In short, it helped.
The MCAS performance of Boston’s current Class of 2026 brings these findings into even clearer relief.
The funding was particularly impactful for lower income communities, where significantly more dollars were granted and spent per pupil. Gains in math appear stronger than the gains on literacy. And authors caution there is a lot more work and money required of states to continue with academic recovery.
But did all that money go as far as it should have? As the authors note, only 20% of the largest tranche of ESSER was required to address learning loss. ESSER plans ranged widely by state and by district, and it will probably be some time before we know if the money was spent well in Massachusetts and Boston relative to other communities. Expect more analysis on this point of variance.
Also, all of us know from personal experience that a dollar in 2022 was worth less than a dollar in 2020. Inflation meant each new federal stimulus infusion was worth a little bit less than the last, and in Massachusetts many school districts are laying the blame for their budget woes on the failure of Massachusetts to adjust state aid to reflect inflation.
Yes, many things are more expensive than they were four years ago. But that is not what is driving up costs. For example, as we saw in the Boston Public Schools budget this year, staffing cost increases are growing at a much faster rate than non-salary costs.
The city of Worcester, which is mentioned widely in coverage of the inflation issue, has increased its staffing by no fewer than 9.8% since before pandemic and increased compensation through a new collective bargaining agreement last spring.
Spending on school meals and gas for buses are up, but that is not what is causing budget tension. The greatest additional costs sitting on school systems’ budgets are those that were absorbed through the injection of stimulus funding. Staffing and programs were added, and now there is no more revenue to support them.
This “fiscal cliff” came early for some school districts this year.
More money or less staff are the only bridges across.
notes in the margin
One of the bigger local education success stories is the continued growth of summer learning opportunities, led by Boston After School and Beyond.
A good chunk of Mayor Wu’s monthly WBUR interview concerned schools, including questions around the cancellation of school last Friday that drew some ire from families.
A profile of Boston’s “community hub” schools, full-service school models that research indicates have been successful in New York City.
More data on the positive effects of high-dosage tutoring (even when virtual).
A deep dive on racial incidents in a Metco community.
The case for ending the MCAS graduation requirement.
A closely watched court case - no, not that one - moved forward yesterday, as the Oklahoma Supreme Court blocked funding for a religious charter school. Expect an appeal.
Another small private Massachusetts college, Eastern Nazarene College, is slated for closure.