Schools at a loss as pandemic funding means cuts likely

(FOX 9) - Federal pandemic funding for education officially runs out after Monday. The well goes dry just as school districts across the country are staring at big budget deficits, so without new funding, painful cuts seem likely.

Pandemic boost was $200 billion across U.S.

Schools got an extra $200 billion over the last three-plus years and Minneapolis alone got more than $250 million.

But the pandemic boost is gone and a time of reckoning has arrived.

One-on-one time with a teacher is very valuable for a student, but it’s traditionally hard to get — even after the IDEA Act mandated individualized education programs in 1990.

"That has always been an underfunded mandate," said Marcia Howard, president of the teachers chapter of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers. "And that is why we're in the situation we are now. And so we are asking for fully funded."

Federal funding has never kept up with mandates for special education and for helping children from lower-income families.

How did schools use the boost?

So a lot of schools used pandemic funding for things like 1-on-1 tutoring in math and reading and free summer school.

Those programs and others could be cut without the boosted federal funding.

Minneapolis and St. Paul schools are each staring at deficits of more than $100 million.

Schools across the country — in California, Texas, Florida, and everywhere — are facing similar struggles.

"This is not an issue that's just affecting this district here or this district there," said Colin Beachy, chair of the Minneapolis Board of Education. "This is a crucial issue that's affecting all of our students all across the country. And we need that federal funding."

Reduced enrollments, lower test scores

Minnesota schools have lost funding, in part, because of reduced enrollments, and they’ve struggled with standardized test scores even with the extra pandemic funding.

Minnesota's big boost

The Minnesota state legislature sent an extra $2.2 billion to schools in its last session.

But administrators estimate about half of that was directed towards new mandates like free meals and benefits for hourly employees.

So union leaders say they still need that federal funding.

"The only way forward for us and to truly support our students is through sustained investments on a federal and statewide basis," said Halla Henderson, the St. Paul Public School Board Chair.

Unlikely solution

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minneapolis) has proposed a couple of bills that would restore most of the federal pandemic funding, but there’s not a lot of confidence those can get through the Republican majority in the House.