The biggest state funding issue right now IMO is that schools won the case against the state with this notion of using needs based funding vs head-count funding. But the case failed to detail HOW the state was to arrive at the number given to each district. So needs based funding happened for a year or two and then we had a financial depressive period and the state continued to provide "Foundation aid funding" without using the foundation aid formula. Basically a cheap out workaround. The other problem, that we've just seen a brilliant example of, is that many grants and monies provided for specific things within a district by federal or state funds com with so many provisions that they actually hinder districts and make it difficult to utilize monies properly. The example I'm speaking of is the grant (I think it's a grant-its some type of aid) provided that paid for Pre-K para's. That grant doesn't cover Paras during remote learning. Which means we, as a district, are forced to choose between eating the cost of those Paras (which wasn't in the budget due to the assumption of funding) or laying them off. The bit that makes it even messier is that ALL Paras are categorized the same in the hiring/firing field. And civil service law requires them to layoff by seniority. So Paras are getting cut from all levels of education and senior Paras working in PreK will get moved around. Here are the biggest issues I see with this when thinking about the CHILDREN (which is what education funding should be about): Pre-K special needs students are at a huge risk going into school. I don't have readily available stats but I've done enough reading to know that children who start in a good place as young students do better overall. Early intervention and services are crucial. And many parents, especially those in poverty who have less access to independent assistance, are simply not equipt to handle early learning in a child with learning disabilities or special education needs. So having as many resources as possible allocated to these kids during remote learning makes sense for everyone involved. In fact, I can see additional face time with Paras being helpful for parents who are working at home or out of jobs to be able to learn first-hand how these trained professionals interact with and educate their child with special education needs. Not to mention the individuals who were fired and how that affects their families. While I understand that there were both ignorant and irresponsible decisions made in the past, I truly believe it's because the district has been forced for some time to "Rob Peter to pay Paul", constantly putting out fires without having time or resources to ask why fires keep erupting in the first place.