Metro Schools and Beacon Center Spar Over COVID Funding

Metro Nashville Public Schools fired off a scathing response this week to a new Beacon Center report that’s critical of the way school districts across the state have been spending their COVID relief money.The Beacon Center reviewed data on the $3.4 billion Tennessee school districts received from the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) to evaluate how those dollars are spent. Its report questioned facility investments and other spending by multiple school districts, including $3 million Metro Nashville Public Schools spent for elementary school design services.“Though new schools and renovations can be legitimate purchases for a school district to make, we question why these items were bought with relief funds that should have gone to remedying learning loss at a time when Tennessee public school students are struggling academically, with only 36 percent reading on grade level,” asked the report. “Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) found it perfectly acceptable to budget $250,000 worth of ESSER funds on private music and art classes, while at the same time opposing families doing the same thing with their education dollars through the Education Savings Account program.”The Beacon Center report also questioned the urgency that districts, including MNPS, have been spending their relief money. According to the report, public school districts in Tennessee have spent less than 32 percent of all ESSER funds.“Multiple federal relief bills were passed because legislators believed schools needed these funds immediately to combat the pandemic and learning loss. Yet the urgency seen in handing out these billions of dollars has not transferred to those in charge of spending the funds,” cited the report.Following multiple news reports on the Beacon Center’s study, MNPS released a blistering statement against the organization itself and the way it evaluated spending data.“The Beacon Center is an organization dedicated to the dismantling and defunding of public education and their latest report is misleading and disingenuous,” said the district in a statement. “They cherry-picked a few expenditures they don’t understand and ignored tens of millions being spent on tutoring, summer programming, early reading, intervention programs, textbooks and materials, mental health and behavioral supports, and more. MNPS was named a “Best for All” district by the state for our investments in academic progress for the students we serve.”MNPS additionally identified the below points the district argues were misrepresented in the Beacon Center report on school spending.

• MNPS is not using ESSER funds for private tutoring, that is being funded by Music Makes Us.
• Artists-in-Residence provide much needed instructional support to improve academic outcomes and student engagement in visual and performing arts classrooms.
• Elementary Design funding will assist the district in moving to the K-5 / 6-8 model that parents have been wanting for many years and studies show improves academic and SEL outcomes for students.
• Tennessee is a reimbursement state, meaning that we must first spend local operating funds before we draw down a reimbursement from the state. This requires significant documentation and reporting, and there is a lag between when funds are encumbered, spent, or reimbursed. The deadline for ESSER 3 spending is July of 2024.

MNPS ESSER spending plans are available online.