Metro Nashville school board passes resolution asking for sustained federal funding for schools

Alexandria Danner, a local parent and union rep for district employees, spoke in support of "increased and sustained" federal funding for schools at Tuesday's Metro Nashville Public Schools Board of Education meeting. (Screenshot)

The Metro Nashville Public Schools Board of Education unanimously passed a resolution on Tuesday that calls for “increased and sustained” federal funding for public schools as federal COVID-19 relief funding gets set to expire.

According to leaders of the Middle Tennessee school district, Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (or ESSER) funding has allowed Metro Nashville Public Schools to provide students with more tutoring, free meal programs, technology and mental health supports in schools, among other uses. In order to sustain much of that crucial funding moving forward, the resolution asks Congress to pass the Keep Our PACT Act to provide supplementary educational services to low-achieving students and the IDEA Funding Act, which would “provide permanent, mandatory funding” for special education and services for children with disabilities.

The resolution noted that Metro Schools’ ESSER funding has enabled the district to improve student performance in math and reading, adding that the district ranked third among top 100 urban districts in math growth from 2022-2023 and sixth among top 100 urban districts in reading growth from 2022-23 in a Harvard-Stanford study examining schools’ post-pandemic recovery. It added that on average, districts nationwide have relied on ESSER money to support roughly 8 percent of their budgets over the past three years.  

Alexandria Danner, a local parent and union rep for district employees, spoke in support of the resolution, which she said would make sure that schools “get the funding they need permanently.” She said the $450 million provided to the school district through federal relief funds has played a key role in improving student performance and programming for underserved students.

“During COVID-19, ESSER funds were a lifeline for our schools. They made sure students had access to the resources and the care they needed during a really tough time for all of us. Those funds helped us step up and tackle some longstanding inequities here in Nashville. But now that those funds are running out, we have to ask, ‘What happens next?’” she said during public comments. “The Keep the PACT Act is more than just a bill, it’s a commitment to our kids and to our educators that their needs don’t come with an expiration date.”

Mary Jo Cramb, an educator and parent of students in the district, said she also supports the resolution. She noted that sustained investments through the legislation will allow schools to continue providing and maintaining the technology needed for instruction and online learning, adding that the district needs “ongoing improvements to Wi-Fi and internet service” to get the most out of the money the district has already spent.

“We need to be able to repair and maintain these learning tools as we use them, and replace them when they become obsolete,” she said.

Cramb added that “ESSER funding was great while it lasted, but it was never enough.” She said its most important limitation was that the district was unable to use it to increase staff salaries.

“In order to increase pay for all educators so we can afford to live in this city, the district needs steady, dependable funding, not one-time infusions like ESSER and other grants,” she said.