Many school districts are seeing a drop in enrollment due to the coronavirus, this could lead to a drop in state funding.

18,000 students are missing from school in Florida, NPR reports. Declines in over 20 districts are showing up and viral learning and a scramble to provide a safe environment for in-person learning are the cause.

Moving forward operational costs could be cut and many families are moving to private schools and daycares to keep kids safe from contracting COVID-19. This could cause school districts to lose funding.

“If you’ve got a district where 70, 80 percent of the money is coming in state aid based on some enrollment count number, which would tend to be a poorer district serving a higher share of low-income and minority students,” says Bruce Baker, an education professor at Rutgers University., “Those districts stand to lose a lot if the state decides to follow through with using this year’s enrollment counts as a basis for funding in the future.”

As many parents struggle with virtual learning and the decision to send students back to class, schools are facing a difficult challenge, open back up at full capacity with protections in place or continue virtual or hybrid learning? What do you think?