CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – As COVID-era federal aid programs come to a close, the CMCSS director of schools says teacher layoffs aren’t expected in Montgomery County when stimulus funds run out.
The Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) is a fund created by the federal government in 2020 to help maintain healthy learning environments and prepare for a return to schools during the COVID-19 pandemic.
CMCSS was awarded $91 million in relief funding over the course of three separate acts. When School Board member Margaret Pace asked at Tuesday’s meeting whether the funds running dry could result in layoffs, Director of Schools Jean Luna-Vedder said that the county wasn’t expecting any layoffs.
According to Luna-Vedder, the end of ESSER has been carefully considered in funding decisions for the past two years. Positions opening under ESSER were always evaluated, and positions that would only be available during the ESSER period were marked as such.
The director also said that new positions deemed important to maintain had already been worked into the general purpose budget. “We are not expecting any sort of teacher layoffs in this county,” said Luna-Vedder.
ESSER funds also allowed CMCSS to try new things, such as full-time substitutes.
When Pace asked whether the end of ESSER would help or hurt Montgomery County’s teacher shortage, Luna-Vedder said the county seems to be a in a better position than in past years. She acknowledged that teachers were still needed, especially in math, science and special education, but said that measures such as pay raises for teachers were helping curb the issue.