Texas public schools received more than $19 billion in pandemic relief funds over the last four years, but that pipeline of cash will largely end on Sept. 30, The Texas Tribune reported.
That means many Texas schools already struggling with budget deficits will begin the school year with even more serious deficits, especially since the Texas Legislature has not increased base per-student pay since 2019 — a year before the pandemic began.
Congress passed the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief package in 2020 to help schools deal with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused enrollment declines, teachers exiting the profession and falling test scores. That funding is about to end, with essentially nothing to take its place for many school districts already at the maximum allowed property tax rate.
