Pandemic Enrollment Loss Support Aid Helps Districts Who Lost Students
Many school districts lost students last year, resulting in lost revenue. Typically, when this happens, districts receive 28 percent of the formula allowance per student as Declining Enrollment Aid to help offset the costs. This year, on top of the Declining Pupil Aid, Governor Walz approved Pandemic Enrollment Loss Support Aid, which came from the state’s portion of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds. This provides districts who had declining enrollment from FY20 to FY21 an additional $1,077 per declining enrollment pupil (these are projected numbers and will be finalized in January 2022). Districts will receive 80 percent of their aid in October 2021 and the remaining 20 percent in January 2022.
View the map showing the total aid received per district for loss of students.
There are a few points to note from the map above:
- Districts who receive the most aid, also lost a higher number of students.
- Larger districts have a higher potential to lose students.
- About 20 percent of the districts did not lose students during FY20 to FY21.
MREA took this data one step further and broke down the awarded aid per Adjusted Pupil Unit of district to offer a more accurate comparison by district. See the map here.
This one-time aid is a welcome relief for those districts whose budgets were affected by declining enrollment last year. MREA advocated for relief to districts who experienced a loss of students because of the pandemic last year during the regular legislative session.
As Pandemic Enrollment Loss Support Aid dollars are finalized in the coming months, MREA will keep members abreast of changes or updates.
