Question

how school districts are currently being affected by COVID-19 and possible issues come Fall. Will schools reopen in the Fall? If they do not, how will this affect families? What about budget cuts in the upcoming year, pass/fail options, and potential layoffs?

Answer 1

Since Covid-19 has seriously marked the sudden economic downfall of the world as well as United States, school districts are forced to find a way out from the near financial fall by drafting a new budget. It's going to be a very critical situation for district schools since they run on state money but due to the lockdown, business activities are almost closed which implies there is no sale or income tax. Therefore, there would be a significant lesser earning for the state and a major drop in school budget. To tackle with their needs in a pandemic environment, many schools are already using their funds allocated for other stuff. So, for long term like post covid-19 scene, its going to be even harder.

The first thing that the schools are going to do is stop hiring new individuals, cancel travel plans and remove not so necessary things from their curriculum. But to reach that potential budget, layoffs are pretty possible. If layoff of personals take place it would be mostly the junior teachers since the senior one will have a better chance of survival based on their rank. But such layoff will be a bad news for high-poverty-schools. What worries more is that in such times, most of the parents will loose their jobs and face major financial breakdown. There are students who rely on schools for food, health care, social services and emotional stability. Shutting down of school under such circumstances will turn out to be nightmare for guardians. There are little chances that the school will open in Fall because everyone in the school authority are scared of going back too early. There is also a possibility that even if the outbreaks stop, it can occur again in the next season like a flu. Though some parents are insisting to open schools some are still afraid that it can be dangerous for their children to go there