As the debate rages over how to safely reopen U.S. schools this autumn, one factor weighs heavily: the nation's 98,000 public 'K-12' schools are a cornerstone of the economy, and a massive jobs engine.
WASHINGTON - As the debate rages over how to safely reopen U.S. schools this autumn, one factor weighs heavily: the nation’s 98,000 public “K-12” schools are a cornerstone of the economy, and a massive jobs engine.
Total expenditures for these schools were $721 billion during the 2018 fiscal year, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. On Monday, Los Angeles and San Diego said their 700,000-student public K-12 schools would start online-only education in August, citing"skyrocketing" coronavirus infection rates in California.The White House has little real sway over whether public schools will reopen - just about 8% of U.S. K-12 public school funding comes from the federal government, with the remainder split fairly evenly between state and local governments, the Census Bureau data shows.
That is nearly double the 351,000 jobs lost in local school districts after the 2008-2009 financial crisis, when tax revenues and budgets withered. According to a recent McKinsey & Co report on reopening schools, about 26.8 million Americans, or about 16% of the workforce, are dependent on child care in order to work.
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