Instead of sending additional CARES Act funds to state school districts, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) has decided to use the money to mitigate losses suffered during the 2019-2020 academic year, according to a June 9 KVUE report.
Each Texas school district was given funding from the CARES Act, determined by the student population of each district. Although school leaders in many districts have already created plans for that money, they apparently won’t be putting those plans into action with CARES Act cash.
For example, Lago Vista Independent School District was given an entitlement award of $127,308, which district leaders planned to use to improve online learning, increase interventions for students who need support and those who fell behind.
“We have since learned that this is not the case,” said Dr. Suzy Lofton-Bullis, deputy superintendent at Lago Vista ISD. “There aren’t federal dollars being infused into schools. There’s federal dollars being infused into the state budget to offset costs, so schools themselves won’t be receiving anything supplemental.”
Austin Independent School District would have received more than $16 million, but Chief of Business and Operations Nicole Conley said it's no surprise that the state chose to put the funding toward revenue shortfalls instead of giving it to the schools.
“It is not new money. The state is going to use it to backfield our entitlements under law and the Foundation School Program, which means it [will not] translate into new dollars, which is a little disappointing, but could be expected” Conley said. “The last time we had stimulus dollars, the state used it to backfield their revenue shortfalls, which are quite substantial.”
A TEA spokesperson issued the following statement to KVUE regarding district funding:
"Texas school districts are fully funded for the entire 2019-20 school year, even though schools buildings closed 2/3 of the way through the school year. Despite significant reductions in economic activity caused by COVID-19-related shutdowns, it’s important to note that school district funding has been fully preserved here in Texas. In addition, school districts will receive reimbursement for 75%of additional coronavirus expenses incurred. Finally, a small amount of supplemental funding will flow to districts – above and beyond all of this other funding – to ensure they can meet federal equitable service requirements during this time."
