*All supporting materials below are available in Spanish in the links at the bottom of this Frequently Asked Questions Document.
Q: I heard that COVID funding for schools is disappearing. What does that mean for our school district?
Several categories of temporary funding were made available to schools nationwide to help us address the serious challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. These dollars were a critical source of support as schools in Modesto and thousands of other communities faced the reality of having to educate students in online classrooms, later assess and mitigate the spread of COVID-19 on campus, and fund additional staff and new supports to help students cope with the long-term impacts of lost classroom time.
During the pandemic, the extra funds provided schools a lifeline. However, this funding program is no longer available. Unfortunately, that means that Modesto City Schools must now make reductions to programs and staffing, as other districts have done over the last year or are currently doing.
How will this impact my children enrolled in Modesto City Schools?
Modesto City Schools is committed to following a collectively developed set of guiding principles as we work through this process. That means that our schools will continue to provide a high-quality education to the students in our community—that won’t change.
In addition, the district is already taking steps to pause before filling open positions. Some unfilled positions may be eliminated, significantly reducing the number of individuals who may later lose their positions.
Who and what will be reduced?
The district must reduce $11 million from our budget this year and another $11 million next year to cope with the fact that the federal and state governments will no longer provide COVID funding. That cannot be accomplished without some losses of existing staff members.
While we won’t know which programs or services will be reduced until we have completed our program analyses and considered feedback from our staff, parents, and other educational partners, likely, some of the staff who serve the district in support roles (including management roles) will have their positions eliminated. Again, the district leadership is doing everything possible to keep this number to a minimum and, where possible, retrain individuals to qualify for any open positions.
Who makes these decisions? And how will the district determine which programs to reduce?
District leadership and various groups that include staff, parents, and students are currently engaged in doing a comprehensive program analysis of many of the programs and services currently running in the district. This analysis is straightforward. The following questions will be asked:
What/how much was allocated?
What was spent?
What was the intended student outcome?
What was the actual student outcome?
We are working to maintain the programs that show positive student outcomes. This is a transparent process, last outlined during the September 9, 2024 Board meeting. The presentation can be viewed here, at 02:03:20, in the video recording of that meeting.
During the 2023-2024 school year, the Board approved a critical document, the guiding principles referenced above, that helped lead these discussions. You can read those guiding principles here.
What if some of the new programs created in the last few years are helping students? If a program is working, does it have to be eliminated?
Not necessarily. Our district is taking a broader approach to evaluating a wide range of programs to maximize resources and ensure we support our district’s strategic goals. Parents, students, and staff may favor some programs over others.
Here, you can also view a list of our programs, a brief description, and their cost. However, our students, staff, and families are already intimately familiar with the programs they value the most. (Linked here is a list of programs in Spanish.)
What steps will be taken to minimize the impact on students?
The district will prioritize maintaining programs that most benefit students. Again, we aim to ensure that students continue receiving a high-quality education, which will not change.
What timeline can we expect for the evaluation process?
This is the second year of a three-year process. The work is ongoing now, with district leadership aiming to present their recommendations to the Board of Education in November. Please check this link for much more detailed information.
I see construction at some of our schools. Couldn’t those dollars be used on staffing to avoid layoffs?
No, the improvements to our oldest schools are thanks to bonds that voters approved. By law, those dollars cannot be used for other purposes. They must be used to repair and upgrade our schools, which is also a significant need in Modesto.
I have some opinions to share on this issue. Who do I reach out to?
The district seeks feedback from community and parent groups and staff input. Additionally, we are in constant communication with our labor partners, the Modesto Teachers Association (MTA) and the California School Employees Association (CSEA). If you have thoughts to share with district leadership, you are strongly encouraged to reach out via email to publicinfo@monet.k12.ca.us.
Community members are also welcome to provide feedback to the Board of Education at the following email: publiccomment@mcs4kids.com and at an upcoming Board meeting. Agendas are linked here, outlining the process for submitting a public comment card.
SPANISH LANGUAGE DOCUMENTS
COVID Sunsetting Timeline - SPANISH