The EdWeek Research Center, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization, provided the content for this report. Allovue was the sponsor. EdWeek Research Center publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. References to sponsors in this research paper do not constitute endorsements by 91制片厂视频 Week or 91制片厂视频. The EdWeek Research Center produces independent, objective, nonpartisan research and analysis. For more information, contact us at RCinfo@epe.org .
As school districts prepare for the end of federal COVID relief funding, the second annual Allovue 91制片厂视频 Finance Survey finds that K-12 teachers and administrators have grown more pessimistic about the financial conditions in their districts and schools. A total of 1,855 educators responded to the 2023 survey, including 467 district leaders, 592 school leaders, and 796 teachers.
In 2022-2023, the Allovue 91制片厂视频 Spending Confidence Index was developed to gauge educators鈥 level of optimism regarding their districts鈥 financial status. On a 600-point scale ranging from -300 (extremely pessimistic) to +300 (extremely optimistic), this year鈥檚 score was -67, down 29 points from last year鈥檚 score of -38. In a 10-person interview study that was a companion to this year鈥檚 survey, educators cited multiple concerns, such as the use of one-time COVID relief funds to pay for ongoing expenses; the rising cost of addressing student behavioral and mental health challenges; uncertainty around state budgets and local tax referenda; and expectations of a looming recession.
For the second year in a row, 鈥渇unding that fails to keep pace with inflation鈥 surfaced as educators鈥 number one concern related to district finance.
鈥淥nce those one-time monies are gone and we鈥檙e in the middle of a recession and we don鈥檛 have increased core revenue, we鈥檒l be right back where we were before the pandemic,鈥 a California principal predicted in an interview.
Same as last year, administrators involved in budgeting say their top challenges are long-range planning and accurate forecasting. Software is another concern, with roughly half saying their budgeting tools are out of date and in need of modernization, and only a quarter indicating that the software they use interacts or operates well with relevant programs and apps.
Also unchanged from 2022: teachers and administrators are most likely to attribute increasing per-pupil spending rates to increasing student needs.
鈥淭he mental health needs of kids since COVID not doubled, not tripled, quadrupled鈥攐r even more than that. I can鈥檛 even really put a number on that,鈥 a district-level safety/at-risk coordinator in Tennessee said.
With nearly two-thirds of school and district leaders reporting that 10 percent or less of their COVID relief funding remains, educators have fewer resources available to address ongoing pandemic-related fallout. Seventy-three percent of respondents say that the end of these funds has had or will have a negative impact on their budgets. If districts do have to make budget cuts, administrators say they are most likely to reduce spending in professional development, contributions to savings/rainy day funds, and extracurriculars.
The survey also investigated knowledge of school resources beyond pandemic aid. Typically, the federal government supplies roughly 10 percent of all K-12 education funding. However, survey results suggest that educators generally overestimate this amount鈥攖he median guess was 20 percent. Survey results further suggest that educators generally underestimate per-pupil funding and the cost of teacher benefits.
According to follow-up interviews, these finance knowledge gaps ultimately make it more challenging for educators to advocate for resources, make informed decisions, and engage in long-range budget planning.
The second annual Allovue 91制片厂视频 Finance Survey was commissioned by Allovue, a technology solution for K-12 financial management, and administered by the nonprofit, nonpartisan EdWeek Research Center in November 2023. The companion study interviews were conducted in December 2023 and January 2024 with a total of 10 teachers and administrators from eight states. Allovue was acquired by PowerSchool in 2024; visit鈥to learn more.