DCPS Funding Cliff?

[Anonymous]

I have just read this from my neighborhood newsletter. Is that correct? Does anybody have more info? 😳

Most school budgets stable for one year, followed by steep funding cliff

DCPS has released its school budgets for the year. Reports are that most schools, including those in Ward 3, are slated to receive sufficient funding to maintain their staff and programs for next school year. But, for Deal, most W3 elementary schools and many schools around the city, this year’s stability—which is financed mainly through one-time funding (much thanks to federal COVID relief)—will be followed by major staff cuts next fiscal year (school year 23-24). It appears that these future costs are the result of a new DCPS budget model. The new model and the apparent funding cliff will surely be a major topic at the budget hearing.

[Anonymous]

~150 kids went private this year rather than go to Deal. If those kids don’t come back, that’s 10% of the school.

[Anonymous]

SWW sent an email out about this last night.

They can't seriously be funding positions using onetime COVID-relief funding, can they?

[Anonymous]

I don’t think anyone here discussed last week’s Post story on how bad the reading lag became after the year plus at home, especially for already-disadvantaged students. It was too depressing to dwell on.

But there’s a reason any parent who could got there kids back into school ASAP, even if it meant going private or moving.

[Anonymous]

Yes and it’s a huge issue. Bowser is a disaster.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:~150 kids went private this year rather than go to Deal. If those kids don’t come back, that’s 10% of the school.

Source?

[Anonymous]

There has been an extra 190 BILLION dollars of COVID money into our nation's schools in the last two years. Of course there is going to be a funding cliff, but it's one that was preceded by a huge spike for academic recovery, free school lunches, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:~150 kids went private this year rather than go to Deal. If those kids don’t come back, that’s 10% of the school.

Source?

More to the point, even if true this is not the reason for the funding changes. As OP notes, this affects many schools and seems to be related to deployment of temporary covid funds. So bringing this unsubstantiated fact into the conversation is just a distraction.

[Anonymous]

It seems like this is related to a new budget model, so it’s not related to COVID funds.

Is this the model?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6NxdTrfbXug

[Anonymous]

So is this saying you've got two school years that are high because of covid relief funds, and then we return to normal?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:~150 kids went private this year rather than go to Deal. If those kids don’t come back, that’s 10% of the school.

Source?

The # of current 8th graders at Deal who are heading to SJC next year almost doubled from the previous class! More than 5% of the current 8th grade class put a deposit down.
For many families this is a stretch financially, but it is the cheapest path to not having to beg DC to appropriately staff their schools every year.

The city has a surplus - but has no problem putting so much stress on their employees. The school administration is put in an impossible position. The teachers are put in difficult environments.
One current 8th grade long term sub at Deal has not been paid since staring in Feb. How many on this board would teach (8th graders) without a paycheck for 8 weeks?

Bowser and by extension Ferebee needs to go. Spend the money on the teachers, not special consultants re-imagining schools.
My re-imagine of schools is enough teachers in the school so we do not need to beg every year. The money is there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So is this saying you've got two school years that are high because of covid relief funds, and then we return to normal?

No it’s not really a return to normal. It’s a change in the funding model that will mean cuts for a lot of schools compared to pre-pandemic staffing.

And I don’t know what DCPS is spending the Covid relief on besides wellness check and isolation room staff but that money is not being used effectively to improve student outcomes.

[Anonymous]

I would be happy with this as long as they trim the funding from schools in Ward 3 and the non-Title I schools in wards 2 and 6 first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:~150 kids went private this year rather than go to Deal. If those kids don’t come back, that’s 10% of the school.

Source?

The # of current 8th graders at Deal who are heading to SJC next year almost doubled from the previous class! More than 5% of the current 8th grade class put a deposit down.
For many families this is a stretch financially, but it is the cheapest path to not having to beg DC to appropriately staff their schools every year.

The city has a surplus - but has no problem putting so much stress on their employees. The school administration is put in an impossible position. The teachers are put in difficult environments.
One current 8th grade long term sub at Deal has not been paid since staring in Feb. How many on this board would teach (8th graders) without a paycheck for 8 weeks?

Bowser and by extension Ferebee needs to go. Spend the money on the teachers, not special consultants re-imagining schools.
My re-imagine of schools is enough teachers in the school so we do not need to beg every year. The money is there.

This is does not answer the original question—which is about the number of families that left Deal this year—and just introduces new ones, like who could possibly know how many Deal families put deposits down at SJC?

But I agree with your assessment of Bowser and Ferebee.

[Anonymous]

And DCPS still hasn't gotten around to hiring the "COVID consultants" it states will be stationed in every single school (even as the pandemic recedes.)