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The Senate should pass a measure to stave off massive layoffs of school staff. LFA just released a statement urging swift action on the Education Jobs Fund, which would provide $10 billion dollars to save critical jobs.

A recent study by the Center on Education Policy underscores the urgency of this effort. Here are some thoughts on a few of the study's major findings:

• Stimulus funds often did not cover the shortfalls most districts faced last year. Seventy percent of districts reported a decrease in funding between 2008/09 and 2009/10. About 50 percent of those reported that stimulus funds made up for less than half of the shortfall. Forty-five percent of districts that received SFSF money had to cut teaching positions. Though $100 billion sounds like a lot, schools were not awash in money.
• Most districts expect further declines in funding next year, and to make matters worse, the stimulus money is running out fast. Almost seventy percent expected funding to drop further in 2010/11. Well over half expected to have spent all their SFSF funds by the end of the 2009/10 school year. Fewer than a quarter of districts expecting declines think SFSF funds will make up half or more of these shortfalls. That's the funding cliff everyone was worried about.
• Three quarters of districts that got stimulus funds expect to lay off teachers next year. Some 46 percent expect to lay off other district staff.
• Half of the districts said balancing long-term needs with the short-term nature of stimulus funds was a major problem. Districts count on stable funds to make plans. Especially when budgets are in free fall, short-term funds are not always the best spurs to long-term reform.
• A vast majority of districts feel they are better off with stimulus funds. Despite the challenges, few districts are looking this gift horse in the mouth. District responses give the lie to assertions that the stimulus didn't stimulate. Districts spent the money on jobs and infrastructure. Now, most feel they have to put on the brakes.

The funding cliff could deal a major blow to both goals of stimulus funding: reform and recovery. Despite what some might think, a sudden plunge in school funding does not create an ideal climate for reform. And massive layoffs raise fears of a double-dip recession.

The $10 billion Education Jobs Fund is critical.