How are you preparing for the fiscal cliff?

Key points:

The final chapters of Emergency Aid for Elementary and Secondary Schools (IS TO BE) funding is approaching.

The impending end of ESSER funding has brought school districts to a critical juncture, forcing them to face budget shortfalls for the upcoming 2024-2025 school year before the “fiscal cliff” hits in 2025-2026.

For three years, school districts across the country have relied on a temporary financial cushion to soften the blow of the pandemic. When that safety net disappears, they will face increased expenses and decreased income.

Every day late means spending inefficiently or leaving money on the table. As districts navigate this budget season, difficult decisions loom regarding staff reductions and cuts to essential resources that have supported student learning and well-being.

Superintendents and school boards are at a critical juncture, reevaluating how to allocate remaining funds and adopt a new approach to operations.

What awaits us in the face of the fiscal abyss

As school districts approach the September 2024 deadline to exhaust their ESSER funds, a sobering insight is emerging. Now that schools have collectively used $60 billion in ESSER funds for each of the last two years, they must now prepare for future budget planning without them.

With this looming budget crisis, many districts find themselves in the uncomfortable position of having to “right-size” their budgets.

While there were some one-time purchases, the reality now is that some dollars spent were not sustainable in the long term.

A substantial portion of ESSER funding went to expanding staff, with 44 percent of districts' spent funds go toward staffing needs., covering expenses such as salaries and benefits for extra personnel. This included hiring more administrative and support staff, investing in professional development, and deliberately easing the post-pandemic workload by bringing in additional hands that they would not otherwise have been able to afford.

As districts prepare for the 2025-2026 budget, many will find that changes are necessary to offset the increased spending they took on.

Restructure district operations with long-term solutions

District-level support staff functions, considered more “nice-to-haves” than essential, will likely be restructured as districts adjust to a more efficient operating model. Duties of due process employees, such as administrative assistants and paperwork facilitators, are already seeing reductions.

In the coming years, final funding decisions made by current district leaders will serve as a litmus test of whether they have proactively addressed the internal capacity needed at the system level to support their chosen funding allocation.

Will they prioritize short-term solutions or base their decisions on sustainability? These next two years will reveal whether leaders have laid a solid foundation for success or whether their decisions were simply temporary patches with no lasting impact.

The answer to these questions lies in assessing the readiness of your teams: do you have the right people, equipped with the time and technology to make the investment worthwhile?

Where are you now?

Take a moment to define your current state.

From the special education department to the superintendent's office, educators at all levels feel the burden of limited resources and time constraints. While increasing either option may seem unattainable, first clarify your top priorities, not just what seems ideal at the moment.

Daily workloads often prevent us from pausing to identify these priorities, much less communicate them to school communities. However, without a clear understanding of what works and what doesn't, staff and resource cuts will be felt even more.

Where do you want to go?

Consider how to strengthen educator recruitment and combat turnover.

Educators are responsible for bringing their best to the table, but it is up to the district to equip them with the tools they need to thrive. Without adequate support, engagement, and resources, educators risk burnout, which could lead to sudden departures, impeding the district's growth as it races to fill vacancies.

Recruitment and retention efforts They require more than specific investments; They demand sustainable systems and robust processes. This includes ongoing professional development initiatives rather than fleeting one-day training sessions.

To attract and retain highly qualified staff, districts may opt for quick, superficial technological solutions, which often involve extensive and expensive training or a “set it and forget it” implementation. Alternatively, they may choose to foster long-lasting partnerships with suppliers that support their growth, celebrate successes, and drive progress toward long-term goals.

How will you get there?

Lose the survival mode mentality and play the long game.

After the pandemic, districts understandably took a cautious approach to allocating funds, prioritizing proven results over risky efforts. Reactive decisions made during the crisis were necessary to maintain educational continuity, however, the persistent workload between administrative functions and special education teams, compounded by reduced staffing and increased stress, underscores the need to a new approach.

Continuing to operate in survival mode risks overlooking opportunities to lay the foundation for sustainable systems beyond the fiscal cliff—systems that will produce lasting benefits for the staff, educators, and students they serve.

Choose the right educational program technology-to-help-special-educators-everywhere/?sh=31f4d39369e7″ target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>technology Partnering may seem like a gamble, but it can also be a game-changer.

technology solutions that streamline administrative tasks, along with continuing professional development programs and innovative teaching methods, can enable educators to do more with less.

Sustainability beyond the fiscal cliff

Now is the time to seize the opportunity and lay the foundation for the future. District leaders should leverage final ESSER funding to get rid of systemic “mess” in ways that better serve students in the long run.

The reality is that the term of a superintendent and the term of a school board member are finite. However, visionary leaders understand the importance of investing in system structures and support that will endure long after they are gone. By acting now – and recognizing that effective implementation is a gradual process, not a quick fix – they leave a legacy of positive impact that will benefit students and educators for years to come.