What will happen in Volusia schools when COVID funding stops? Teachers will be 'displaced'

When Volusia County Schools’ teachers return from their spring break next week, they will be notified of staffing changes due to district budgeting adjustments.

Teachers were informed March 21 that the district, as well as other districts statewide, will no longer receive the federal funding provided in recent years to mitigate gaps stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, staffing models will “reflect the budget allocated,” according to the email teachers received from the district.

“Instead of returning to a district-driven model, schools will be able to allocate staff according to students’ interests and needs within their budget,” said Danielle Johnson, Volusia's director of community information, on behalf of the district, in the email to teachers. “With this adjustment in the allocation process, VCS will continue to offer a full continuum of programs and electives within our district.”

Here's what we know

Johnson told The News-Journal that the district has received about $200 million in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) I, II and III funding. She said this does not include additional sub-ESSER grants the district has received, such as the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Grants and the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Grants.

According to the Florida Department of Education, ESSER I funding ended Sept. 30, 2022, and ESSER II funding ended Sept. 30, 2023. Johnson said that ESSER III funding will “sunset” this September.

More: Volusia County Schools to relocate Riverview Learning Center to Osceola Elementary campus

Teachers will not lose their jobs as a result of the budget adjustments, Johnson confirmed, but some will be “displaced” ― either transferred to a new school or assigned a new subject to teach.

Each year, Volusia County Schools strives to balance positions across the district and align those positions to specific school and student needs, Johnson told The News-Journal.

“The difference is that this year, schools will be able to allocate staff according to students’ interests and needs instead of a district-driven model,” she said in an email to The News-Journal. “A teacher in a position that may no longer be available at one school may transfer to another school or teach a different subject in which they are certified.”

Although it was not specified exactly how many teachers will be displaced, Johnson did note that the number of impacted teachers is smaller than the number of expected vacancies.

Is Volusia County Schools making too many changes at once?

Elizabeth Albert, president of Volusia United Educators union, said there is currently not much clarity for teachers regarding the changes set to take action in the 2024-2025 school year.

She said that she sent the district a letter last week containing 17 questions that concern the displacement of teachers and is still waiting for a response.

"There doesn't seem to be a concrete plan in place to navigate any of these changes, whether it's rezoning or the change in allocation, and we can't continue to build the plane while we're flying it," she said. "We can't just wing it and expect that the employees are going to continue to be able to pick up the pieces and make things work."

Albert noted that "massive" change such as the district's recently approved rezoning or upcoming displacement of teachers can result in "destabilization" district wide.

"When you've got teachers moving from one school to another in the numbers that they're expecting, it definitely has an impact," Albert said. "A lot of teachers find that school that they love and they want to make that their home, and they bond with the students and the community members and they build those relationships. And to have it just essentially pulled out from underneath them, it's not right, not only for the instructional personnel, but also for the children and the community."

Strong teacher-student relationships are critical to success in the classroom, according to Albert.

When students are excited to have a teacher for the year, or when a teacher teaches multiple siblings in a family, she said, "that's when the magic happens."

"But when we are massively reconfiguring what's going on in our schools, it disrupts that," Albert said. "It disrupts that stability, and those relationships that have been in place for so long to make school that safe and welcoming place."

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Volusia County Schools adjusts as pandemic relief funding ends