Advocacy Update 4/19/20
Post date: Apr 20, 2020 5:19:45 PM
A reminder, if you need help or know someone who does, our Jeffco PTA President, Shawna Fritzler is still doing Suicide Prevention Trainings (via Zoom).
As we all struggle to deal with the restrictions surrounding COVID19: businesses shuttered, new rules regarding sick leave, masks and physical distancing, and the many other limitations this has placed on our daily lives; one of the hardest hit entities aside of our healthcare system is our schools. Even though our school buildings don’t house students in traditional classroom settings with school staff, our school districts are absorbing new and unplanned costs and expenditures to not only support remote learning for the balance of this school year, but the role schools play in the community, including distribution locations for Grab and Go Meals for students and families, has increased greatly. This is a national trend.
On April 6th, 2020 the National PTA sent this letter to Congress leadership requesting that as “Congress negotiates a fourth supplemental in response to COVID-19” it include “significant, robust, and flexible funding for our nation’s public schools”.
In their letter, NPTA points to the response of 1,600 plus superintendents nationwide in a recent survey, and the challenge they face to cover unplanned expenses, and the drain on state and local funding as state revenues decrease.
“Immediate and initial responses - including increased cleaning costs, limiting large crowd activities, and cancelling of out-of-school activities - quickly pivoted to widespread closures, shifts to online learning, and efforts to ensure that teaching and learning can occur to the greatest extent possible.”
National PTA has these two Action Alerts they are asking you to participate in. As with all of their action items, it only takes a few minutes - it’s just a matter of plugging in a few lines of info and their app does all the work for you.
Tell Congress to provide federal resources for family engagement, remote learning, special education and child nutrition programs in the next relief bill. https://www.pta.org/home/advocacy/take-action?vvsrc=%2fcampaigns%2f73209%2frespond
2.)Tell Congress to provide Emergency funding for family engagement.
https://www.pta.org/home/advocacy/take-action?vvsrc=%2fcampaigns%2f73179%2frespond
Here in Jeffco, our school board and district leadership are in the budgeting process, to adopt a budget by the June 30th deadline, based on the most recent state forecast information. They are preparing for the stark realization there may be recissions to school funding.
District staff recommends working from the most conservative scenario:
• No new funding from state
• No buy down of budget stabilization factor
• Reduction of Specific Ownership Tax (such as taxes from new car purchases)
• Loss of interest
• Possible recissions to school funding