Stimulus Bill for Education Sector: Schools are Just Saving and Not Rehiring

The recent economic recession has not only affected the financial sector but also the education sector as well. Lack of school funding has caused school districts to lay off thousands of teachers, a few administrative employees and some blue collar staff. According to estimates, there were not less than 300,000 teachers who lost their teaching jobs because of inadequate funds to supplement their salaries. The budget cuts in education also hampered educational reform and reduced the quality of teaching that the schools are producing especially that the teacher to student ratio has become more undesirable.

With the massive degree of public outcry initiated by thousands of state teachers, Washington eventually came up with a solution to prevent future layoffs and rehire back those teachers. The U.S. Congress approved a legislation that will provide $10 billion in stimulus aid to school districts in order to protect its workforce. Intriguingly, instead of rehiring those teachers who recently lost their jobs, district schools have instead saved the money in order to prevent future layoffs.
They argue that with the economic outlook not going any better, it is best for them to preserve the money and prepare for another trying future.

Schools have predicted more budget shortfalls and deficits to come enabling them to save money as much as possible. For example, in Los Angeles, estimates show that over $280 million in budget shortfall will be acquired next year that could threaten more jobs and further increase unemployment levels. Reports show that the district removed 682 teachers and over 2000 support workers just this spring. Recent indications show that the district might again remove over 4,500 workers next year. In New Jersey, over 3000 teachers were removed in May and are still uncertain whether they get their jobs back.

While economic uncertainty still looms, this federal aid package for the educational sector will only create a minor impact unto teachers. Schools are still worried about future outcomes and thus would save the money instead of using it to hire more workers or teachers. While protecting and preserving jobs will definitely contribute to a better economy, there is still a massive disappointment among teachers and individuals who recently lost their jobs and expects a rehiring to happen. The federal government should make sure that schools will ultimately utilize the additional funding to bring back those teachers. But then again, until the economy hasn’t normalized, more and more problems will just surface and people will never be happy again.