Giving Compass' Take:

• Due to the COVID-19 economic recession, school district leaders need to consider how to face smaller budgets, layoffs, and more financial issues this coming school year. 

• Where can education donors help fill funding gaps for struggling school districts due to COVID-19?  How is your local district responding to these challenges? 

• Read about COVID-19's economic shock on schools in high-poverty areas. 

The education sector was still feeling effects from the Great Recession when the coronavirus pandemic shuttered school buildings this spring, sending the country into economic shock — one that is expected to be much worse than the 2007-2009 recession.

Prior to the pandemic, more than 20 states were spending less per K-12 pupil post-Great Recession, and in nine states, those expenditure levels were still declining. Across the nation, cuts to state education budgets made during the last recession are being linked to sizable and long-lasting losses in student achievement and outcomes.

Here, we've gathered insights from experts and reports about what financial issues district leaders should watch out for as they navigate the 2020-21 school year.

More recent data analyzed by the Congressional Research Service shows similar trends during this recession: All education budgets relying mostly on state and local revenues to fund K-12 are most at risk.

  • Federal education aid
  • Lower district budgets
  • Layoff decisions
  • Extra spending
  • Enrollment trends

Read the full article about financial issues for school district leaders by Naaz Modan Education Dive.