Metro Schools will tap into reserves to sustain pandemic-era programs while many districts face funding cliff

Metro Nashville Public Schools got almost all the funding it asked for in Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s first budget proposal. That’s notable considering it’s a lean budget year. Most spending is flat, and O’Connell is asking departments to find 1.4% savings.

The proposal includes a 3.5% cost of living adjustment for MNPS employees, the same as other Metro workers. The mayor also set aside $18 million to put toward new textbooks.

Plus, the mayor’s office is supporting the district’s efforts to use money from its reserves to keep up certain programs that were started using federal pandemic relief funds.

With those federal dollars expiring soon, school districts around the country are facing a funding cliff.

But MNPS Director Adrienne Battle said the district made some strategic choices to turn that cliff into a bridge “to make sure that all of those investment that have resulted in positive outcomes do not go away for our students.”

The district is looking to pull $77 million from reserves. That money would fund things like a nurse in every school, high impact tutoring and summer learning camps. School board Chair Rachael Anne Elrod says the district hopes to put those programs into the operational budget next cycle.

A district spokesperson said Battle’s leadership team will now incorporate O’Connell’s recommendation into a budget that will go before the school board at its May 14 meeting.

Courtesy MNPS

This screen capture from an MNPS financial presentation shows ESSER-funded programs the district intends to continue.