As COVID funds end, schools working to retain employees

With federal pandemic dollars for schools set to expire this year, districts are looking for ways to avoid reductions in workforce after the funding comes to an end.

In preliminary budget discussions, Pitt County Schools has plans to request $1.4 million in local funding for nurses and counselors previously paid for with Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds, according to a proposed local budget presented to the Board of Education on Monday.

The proposal includes a request for county funding of about $750,000 to fund five school nurses and to provide matching funds for another five nursing positions. About $715,000 is being sought for school counselor positions.

Superintendent Ethan Lenker said that while funding for some positions will be eliminated, the school system is working to retain educators.

“The question was asked about what programs or services may not be around anymore,” Lenker said of an ESSER update presented to the board.

“Nobody’s going to lose their job. We have 30 to 40 openings right now, so nobody has to worry about a job.”

Lenker said the school district has already begun to move ESSER-funded positions, such as reading specialists, to fill classroom openings. Of the seven reading specialists, only three remain in the position.

“Everyone else has been put back into the classroom or will be put back into the classroom,” he said. “There are only a handful left that have not been assigned jobs for next year already.”

Lenker also said advanced teaching roles will continue due to state funding and grants.

“The nurses and the counselors, those are the ones we have not retained yet,” he said. “That will be part of our request to the county commissioners.”

Pitt County Schools is scheduled to present budget requests to the county’s Board of Commissioners in May.

Across the state and nation, many school districts are grappling with how to avoid eliminating positions that were paid for with federal funds that will no longer be available.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg reported last month that it had more than 700 ESSER-funded positions, but it hoped that current vacancies will offset cuts. Two California school districts announced this month that some health and classified personnel would be reduced or laid off due to the end of ESSER funding.

Over the pandemic, Congress gave schools almost $200 billion in three rounds of funds to help schools affected by COVID-19. The final round of funding has to be obligated by the end of September.

Chief Finance Officer Michael Hardy said Pitt County Schools has a remaining ESSER fund balance of about $11 million. This represents about 10% of the total ESSER funds provided to the district since 2020.

In his report to the school board during this week’s work session, Hardy provided details on remaining funds in several designated spending categories, including cleaning supplies, air quality improvement and educational technology. In response to a question from District 4 representative Don Rhodes, Hardy indicated that unspent funds have been earmarked and should be used before the September deadline.

At a special called meeting following Monday’s work session, the board agreed to spend about $750,000 in ESSER funding to replace 62 heating, ventilation and air conditioning units at 23 schools.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a non-partisan research and policy institute, reports that ESSER funds have made up a significant portion of total K-12 education revenue in recent years for many states, especially in the South. According to the center, in states that reported data, nearly half of ESSER III funds have been used for labor costs including hiring and salary increases.

Also at Monday’s special called meeting, the board voted to spend about $400,000 to replace cafeteria serving lines at four schools: Ayden Elementary, A.G. Cox Middle, E.B. Aycock Middle, and Wahl-Coates Elementary.