Courtesy: GO Public Schools
As the next school year approaches, educators throughout California are taking stock of the continued challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly in addressing the critical issue of learning recovery. California school districts received a staggering $23.4 billion in relief dollars through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds. But there remains a concerning lack of clarity regarding how these funds are being used.
As we approach the September 2024 deadline to spend these funds, a glaring problem remains: We still do not know how the money is allocated and utilized.
While school districts are required to post quarterly spending reports on the ESSER III spending website, this does not necessarily mean that the public is receiving a clear and comprehensive picture of how much money has been spent and where it has been allocated. Without transparency in the utilization of learning recovery dollars, it becomes impossible to determine whether these funds are being effectively employed for their intended purpose.
The importance of understanding how Covid-19 relief funds are being spent cannot be overstated, especially in light of emerging research that highlights how the pandemic has exacerbated existing opportunity and achievement gaps for marginalized students — an unfortunate reality that is all too familiar in California schools.
According to a 2022 report from the Center on Reinventing Public Education, low-income students and students of color, who on average spent the most time out of in-person classrooms, are testing far below their white, advantaged peers. Researchers from the American Institutes for Research, Dartmouth College, Harvard and the educational-assessment nonprofit NWEA concluded that while the average students lost the equivalent of seven to 10 weeks of in-person instruction, students at high-poverty schools lost the equivalent of 22 weeks of instruction, and Black and Latino students lost four to five more weeks of instruction than their white peers. This estimated loss has resulted in a widened gap in achievement for high-poverty schools: a 15% gap in reading and a 20% gap in math. To effectively bridge these gaps and provide equitable opportunities for California’s students, we must prioritize funding adequacy, transparency and accountability.
Currently, districts are offered 29 categories to report their expenditures. However, several school districts simply post generic reports with lump sum spending categories or omit crucial information. Categories such as “other activities necessary to maintain operations” and “other authorized activities” allow school leaders to fulfill commitments outlined in their spending plans without adequately addressing the real issues faced in their schools. As a result, learning recovery initiatives, professional development and mental health supports might be deprioritized in favor of operating budgets, allowing districts to technically meet reporting requirements. Such practices hinder progress and perpetuate the disproportionate harm suffered by low-income students and students from marginalized communities due to pandemic-related school closures. At a time when transparency is needed more than ever, we must insist on full disclosure of how funding is being spent.
To ensure the effective utilization of relief funds, proactive measures must be taken. A recent investigation by EdSource revealed that nearly a quarter of school districts and charter schools have not spent any of the funds earmarked by Congress for interventions addressing lost learning.
Families and community members can play a vital role by seeking information on how much money their school district or charter school has spent on Covid relief and demanding detailed spending reports from school board members and leaders. Throughout our communities, we need to know what the plans are to address unspent relief funds and the implementation of systems to enhance transparency and rebuild community trust.
Moreover, local and state leaders bear the responsibility to demand more robust accountability measures. Experts recommend that districts facing a loss of more than a year’s worth of learning should be required to resubmit spending plans, actively engage the community and collaborate with organizations to extend instructional time, and utilize federal dollars to compensate teachers for an extended school year.
In order to close longstanding opportunity and achievement gaps, which have only worsened recently, our commitment to accountability and transparency in funding allocation must persist at all levels. Given research suggesting that money is being “poorly accounted for at best, and wasted at worst,” we are failing our students during a time when they need us most. As the next school year approaches, let us rise to the challenge and ensure that every dollar allocated for learning recovery is utilized effectively, with transparency and accountability at the forefront of our efforts. Only then can we provide the support and opportunities necessary for all California students to thrive in the wake of the pandemic.
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Darcel Sanders is the CEO of GO Public Schools, a nonprofit organization that amplifies the work of families and their champions to promote and advocate for the equitable public education of underserved students in California. She previously served as legislative director for state Sen. Carol Liu and earlier worked as a middle school teacher in Oakland.
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