A special lunch presentation from CSBA’s Research and Education Policy Development Department unveiled research that the association is taking on regarding how LEAs are spending COVID relief funding. The final report, expected to be published this summer, will include analyses of federal and state expenditure reports and information from a CSBA survey sent out to all LEA superintendents to obtain more granular and anecdotal detail. While the research team is waiting for the CDE to publish state relief funding expenditure reports, they presented some of the findings from their research at the federal level along with preliminary results from the survey.

While there have been concerns in the media about LEAs’ not spending COVID relief funds, the federal expenditure reports and survey responses present a clear rebuke of that narrative. LEAs are spending down the federal funding, as is evidenced by the significant majority already using most of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) 1 allocations. The federal reports show the changing nature of LEA spending coinciding with the timeline of how the COVID-19 pandemic was affecting schools. For example, early funds were used for things like educational technology. More recent use of funds includes programs and initiatives aimed at learning recovery for students. The shifting needs of LEAs illustrate the necessity of flexible spending rules for the funds so that they can change course when and where it is needed.

Other early returns for the survey showed that, while student mental wellness supports rank very high on the list of concerns LEAs have to address, there are challenges with using relief funding to address this priority. Survey responses revealed an inability to find suitable staff to fulfill needed positions such as counselors and psychologists and concerns about the sustainability of programs/staff positions when the funding is one time and will run out.

CSBA Governmental Relations staff presented on statewide ballot measures impacting public schools that may qualify for the November 2022 election. Two highlights included:

• Referendum on Senate Bill 793: This measure, already qualified for the November ballot, is a referendum on the 2020 law SB 793 (Hill, D-San Mateo), which prohibits the retail sale of certain flavored tobacco products and tobacco flavor enhancers. The referendum would require a majority of voters to approve the 2020 state law before it can take effect and the implementation of SB 793 is suspended pending the outcome of the referendum. Delegates voted to endorse the CSBA Board of Directors recommendation to support the measure.
• California Art and Music K-12 Education Funding Initiative: This initiative would fund arts and music education in all K-12 public schools by annually allocating from state General Fund an amount equaling 1 percent of required state and local funding for public schools. It would raise $800 million to $1 billion annually, beginning in 2022–23, allocate 70 percent using total enrollment and 30 percent based on economically disadvantaged enrollment. While the goals of the measure are worthy, it would create a new categorical program with a requirement that 80 percent of funding be spent on staff. With the many competing priorities facing school districts, funding the Local Control Funding Formula base would allow LEAs to direct money where it is needed most, including arts programs.