SPS hopes to retain 60 of the 181 jobs from pandemic-related federal funding that’s about to run out

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – From long-term health problems to workforce shortages, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic linger on.

And Springfield Public Schools is about to deal with another aspect from the pandemic as it tackles the 2024-25 school budget.

With the school year coming to a close on Thursday, SPS Superintendent Grenita Lathan has spent part of her time touring schools to hand-out packs of books to younger students to encourage them to read over the summer.

But Lathan and her staff are also working on the 2024-25 school budget that’s due by June 30 and one of the challenges is that federal money that had been available to SPS during the pandemic has now dried up.

There had been several rounds of federal funding during the pandemic with half of the most recent $61.5 million allotment used in the 2023-24 budget. The funding officially ends in September.

Like education systems all around the country, SPS is still trying to fully recover from the lockdowns and academic setbacks during the pandemic. And SPS used the federal funding to hire 181 employees in various roles.

“We focused on addressing learning loss which is one of the objectives on how to use those COVID dollars,” explained Lathan. “Those staff members were additional teachers to reduce class size. We looked at instructional coaches and we had paraprofessionals who worked across the district. We also used the money for contracted services, with CPO for social workers and for before-after-school care for students and our staff members’ children. And we believe those temporary positions did make a difference.”

So after three years of seeing the positives of the additional employees, the district is now looking to save about one-third of those jobs by using $4.5 million mainly from reserve funds to keep 60 employees on the payroll. The list of jobs is fluid and could change by the time the SPS Board of Education approves the final budget, but here’s the basic rundown of how the $4.5 million in salaries spread across 60 jobs would be allotted:

5 Assistant Principals- $513,928

2 Behavioral Interventionists- $168,154

1 Behavior Specialist- $71,387

1 Board Certified Behavioral Analyst- $80,068

2 Coordinators-Employment- $157,286

1 Coordinator-HRIS- $71,196

1 Coordinator-College Access- $148,096

1 Director-Family Support Services- $164,908

9 Paraprofessionals- $243,870

5 School Community Liaisons- $379,137

1 Social Worker- $87,388

1 Specialist-Social and Emotional- $84,155

1 Teacher-At Risk- $72,769

4 Teachers-College and Career Access Spec- $317,492

15 Teachers-Instructional Coaches- $1.2 million

3 Teachers-Physical Education- $218,015

3.5 Teachers-Title I Coach- $285,494

1 Teacher-Title I Math- $84,992

2.5 Teachers-Reading- $$205,850

Lathan pointed out that different schools had different needs.

“For example some of our lowest-performing campuses or campuses that were experiencing some challenges with discipline or behavior were able to retain some positions,” she said. “Another position we focused on was our family support services which insures there are connections with families. If they are experiencing homelessness or need support in other areas there is a one-stop place where they can go in our district, contact that person and their office is responsible for providing that support.”

And as for what happens to the 120 employees whose positions were eliminated?

“We have made every effort for individuals who were qualified and wanted to stay in the district to find a position they were either certified for or a position that was advertised,” Lathan answered. “So anyone who wanted a job and was qualified for a job, they have a job.”

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