Troy City Schools will begin an internal review of last year’s budget this month to prepare for the development of the 2025-2026 budget in September.

Troy City Schools Superintendent Cynthia Thomas said the school system allocated all of its Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funding during the prior fiscal year. The ESSER funding was additional funding from the federal government allocated to schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thomas said because ESSER funds are no longer available, the school system would have to make adjustments when budgeting.

“Like many schools across the country, we did experience a reduction in federal funding due to the loss of COVID-19 relief funds (ESSER),” Thomas said. “While these cuts require us to take a more cautious approach to budgeting, we have worked diligently to minimize the impact on core academic programs.”

Thomas said the school system has done a review of all of the programs offered and made adjustments. She said the school system focused on preserving the quality of instruction, maintaining current staffing levels and to ensure the same quality of student learning and well-being.

“At this time, essential programs remain in place and we continue to prioritize the needs of our students and staff, while adapting to changes in available funding,” Thomas  said.

Thomas said with the expiration of ESSER funding, some supplemental services and temporary positions would be affected.

“[ESSER] funding had supported a variety of programs, including academic interventions, technology upgrades, facility improvement and additional staffing during the pandemic recovery period,” Thomas said. “With the end of that funding, we have to make some thoughtful adjustments. While we’ve worked diligently to protect core instructional programs and maintain staffing, some supplemental services, temporary positions or expanded support that were previously funded through ESSER have been reduced or phased out.”

Thomas said the administration would carefully review and reallocate its funding to ensure essential programs and services that support student learning and well-being are maintained.

Thomas said the loss of ESSER funding wouldn’t have an effect on free or reduced-price meals for eligible students. She said the National School Lunch Program remains in place and will continue to help fund nutritious meals.