WHAT WE’RE READING
Financial pressure from falling enrollment is layering on top of other costs beyond districts’ control, ranging from rising gas prices to GLP-1 prescriptions upping health care plan costs. “More than half of the country’s 50 largest school districts are poised to or already have made cuts, or are facing a reported deficit,” writes Lily Altavena in Chalkbeat.
There’s more to this story, though, as state funding and local property taxes are up in many areas. As Marguerite Roza—who’s been sounding the alarm on this issue for years—told 50CAN’s Marc Porter Magee, “The fiscal cliff is no surprise. It’s been right there in district multi-year financial forecasts. Lots of districts used one-time Covid money to add staff and raise pay. What we’re seeing now is the fallout now that relief funding is gone. Some chose to spend down reserves to put cuts off a year. But math is math.” Right-sizing may be unpleasant, but it’s also inevitable.
Editor's note: This was first published on Mike Petrilli's Substack, SCHOOLED, a twice-weekly free Substack and email newsletter restarting the education-reform conversation.
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