In December, we informed the school board that the School District of Lancaster is facing a structural deficit over the next several years that will progressively strain our ability to maintain current operations. In the meantime, the federal government has stepped in with considerable resources, the latest of which President Biden signed into law on March 11.
These resources change our budget discussions this year, but they do not solve all of our challenges.
First, the good news for our schools: Our business office projects that we will receive a total of nearly $70 million from three phases of the federal government’s Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funding.
- Phase I: Passed in March 2020, it provided $5.2 million to be spent by September 2022. We have used some of this already for our pandemic mitigation efforts.
- Phase II: Passed in December 2020, it provided an additional $21 million to be spent by September 2023.
- Phase III (projected): Passed in March 2021, it provides an additional $42.9 million to be spent by September 2023. Of these funds, $8.6 million must go toward programs and resources to eliminate learning loss due to the pandemic.
Together, these programs represent an unprecedented investment in K-12 schools from the federal government. Our administration is working hard to provide our board with ways these resources can help our students.
However, there is reason for caution. This is not sustainable funding and has an expiration date. Any long-term investments with these dollars must be sustained by our general fund in future years. Excluding these dollars, we project a $13.7 million deficit for the 2021-2022 school year.
State funding has greater long-term impact on our budget.
First, I urge our lawmakers not to repeat the mistakes of previous federal stimulus programs. In 2008, the Legislature cut the amount of state dollars to K-12 while supplanting and supplementing Basic Education Funding with stimulus funds. In total, schools received increased revenue—for several years. But when the stimulus funds expired, the Corbett administration cut billions from education funding, even as it increased state appropriations. This is irresponsible.
This year, Gov. Wolf has called on the Legislature to distribute all Basic Education Funding through the state’s funding formula, which would result in a $19 million increase for SDoL. We have long advocated this policy. While our appropriation could rise or fall under the formula, it represents a much more sustainable way to finance our current level of academic and support programs for years to come without increasing the burden on our taxpayers.