Tools of Engagement: Online software gives parents a voice in prioritizing K-12 stimulus spending.

• Author: Lent, Matthew M.

For school districts in which parents want a stronger voice in prioritizing pandemic-related stimulus funds, technology can play an important role in communication and dialogue, which ultimately makes for better decisions.

According to a poll conducted last fall by the National Parents Union, 51 percent of 1,006 parents surveyed said they should be included in the decision-making process that determines how federal funding is spent to address pandemic-related challenges. (1) The same percentage of respondents felt they knew "not much/ nothing at all" about plans for those funds, while just 13 percent said they have heard a lot, indicating a need for further education in the community.

At the same time, the pandemic has accelerated the use of online civic engagement tools to help foster conversations about government and school budgets in accessible and constructive ways. In addition to--or rather than, in some cases--attending a public meeting, parents can use their smartphones or other connected devices to provide input via online software and do it on their own time, at their convenience. COVID-19 restrictions and social distancing measures have also increased acceptance of online civic engagement practices and increased comfort levels with online software and meeting technologies.

For the Upper Moreland Township School District in Pennsylvania, online public engagement software pro vided a new way to reach parents and stakeholders to improve communication and define community priorities for stimulus funds. The district was also able to collect demographic information about who completed the survey, based on zip codes. Information from the district's case study is presented below.

Pandemic relief funds pose new challenges and choices

Education has been one of the economic areas hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a report from the Economic Policy Institute, more public education jobs were lost in April 2020 than during the Great Recession. (2) The effects of classroom closures across the country were ubiquitous: The pandemic widened pre-existing gaps for disadvantaged students, exacerbated mental health issues, and fueled widespread learning loss, the ripple effects of which have yet to be fully seen.

To date, the U.S. Congress has passed six relief packages aimed at combating economic fallout from the pandemic, three of which include funding for elementary and secondary schools. From March 2020 through March 2021, Congress tunneled nearly $190 billion into K-12 funding (called ESSER, short for Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief), a historic federal infusion for schools.

While these funds provide a much-needed lifeline for school districts and local...