Students arrive at Northside ISD's Joe Straus III Middle School at the beginning of the academic year. Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Education Agency announced it will provide funding relief for low attendance due to the pandemic.San Antonio school leaders welcomed the news Tuesday that the state would provide funding relief for low attendance days, but many called on officials to do more, as attendance problems will continue to plague districts.
“I think if you asked any superintendent anywhere, they would tell you they don’t think this is going to magically end at that point,” said Brian Woods, superintendent of Northside Independent School District, San Antonio’s largest district. “What happened when people got sent home is some really just got out of the habit , so we’ve got to break that cycle and try to emphasize school is important, which we’ve been doing for a long time,” Woods said. “But the state has to recognize that as long as COVID is a reality in communities, there will be a fear of large, in-person gatherings, and some parents really have that concern.”
Earlier this month, House Public Education Committee Chairman Harold Dutton and his fellow committee membersto Abbott and Education Commissioner Mike Morath, calling for funding help for schools. They noted that average daily attendance hovered around 95.4% before the pandemic but has fallen as low as 70% for some districts since winter break.
In February, Northside ISD amended its budget to reflect a revenue decrease of about $22 million, Woods said. The district’s average attendance rate is about 1.8% lower than it was in spring 2019. More than 100,000 students attend Northside ISD.