We’re here to help as ESSER winds down

It’s budget time for school districts—and it has never been a tougher time to be a district leader. Even though we’ve been preparing for the “fiscal cliff” caused by the ESSER spending deadline, tough tradeoffs and long-term redesign work lies ahead. This is work district leaders must spearhead, but which they simply cannot do without the support and engagement of states, local communities, advocates, policymakers, and philanthropists.

While districts used emergency dollars to support critical one-time safety and health needs, they also invested them in tutoring, blended learning, student engagement and wellness supports, expanded postsecondary opportunities, and more.

These efforts must continue—but leaders must find ways to do so with budgets that will be anywhere between 5-25% lower for the highest-poverty districts. The inspiring district leaders we work with know that we can’t get there by just cutting away at a model for schooling and spending that wasn’t working before the pandemic—and certainly won’t work now.

Today, we share “hot off the press” analysis of publicly available data from the three states that shows how this challenge differs significantly across districts and states—and reveals an urgent equity issue:

• High-poverty districts will encounter some of the widest financial gaps in September due to increased ongoing expenditures, causing a potential post-ESSER operating deficit.
• The districts in the toughest position are the many that are experiencing enrollment decline.
• Teacher salaries increased—but not enough to keep up with inflation.?Leaders will need to?strategically redesign compensation models and invest in structures that will make the teaching job more attractive.

Check it out to see how you might replicate this analysis—and don’t miss our six action steps for state and district leaders.

The pandemic’s disruption created unprecedented urgency and opportunity for redesigning how we organize schools and create effective learning experiences—especially for the students furthest from opportunity. We can’t let the hard-won lessons from the past few years go to waste. Now is the time to take what we’ve learned, use a strategic ROI process, and make intentional decisions that upend the way we organize schooling to meet the needs of the future.

ERS is here to support you, however we can—whether that’s helping you understand, communicate, or act on your district’s challenge. No matter what you’re tackling—from improving the teaching job to redesigning the ninth grade experience—ERS’ free tools and publications are here for you. We also run invitation-only learning sessions and webinars; convene and support cohorts of district leaders working together on these issues across the country; and offer just-in-time services directly to districts on strategy design, professional learning, implementation support, and more.

We founded ERS for this moment, and we’re ready to help. Please reach out anytime.

Warmly,

Karen Miles, ERS Founder and CEO

NEW! Equity Detectives at Work: Investigating the Divergent Dangers of the ESSER Fiscal Cliff

Mitigating the ESSER fiscal cliff—while keeping equity top of mind—will require leaders to put on their “equity detective” cap and investigate the data in their districts.?We did much of that equity detective work for you in our latest report, analyzing data from around 1,000 districts in three states to derive some important insights about the fiscal cliff and its equity impact.

Read our latest report to see what foundational detective work you can do now to manage the fiscal cliff later—and put equity at the forefront of your sustainability plans.

ERS is presenting at SXSW EDU in Austin, TX!

Let's End Turnover &?Make Teaching the Job Everyone Wants

ERS Partner David Rosenberg will join a panel of current and former teachers and nonprofit leaders who will draw from decades of experience to discuss solving the teacher turnover challenge—by reimagining the profession from the ground up. Learn more here.

Stay tuned for more “Every school. Every student.”—a newsletter featuring tools and resources to empower?K-12 leaders to redesign school systems and improve student outcomes.

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