How low attendance impacts the school’s budget

By Ernesto H.

There have been many absences for the past years at CATS with seats waiting for students to occupy them. But few students know that when they miss class, that also means less money goes to the school in the future.

So what is the connection between attendance and a school’s budget?

On a random day, Ms. Nguyen, said, “We have 169 absences, so then we make phone calls home, but that’s like after the first period, so sometimes students come back later.”

She explained that many students are counted absent at first because they are late to their first or second periods and that it varies depending on the day.

“So what we’re trying to do is know that our district checks all our schools and most likely observe what the schools are doing to improve the attendance rate to make it higher,” she sad. “In other words, ‘what are you doing as the school to help the kids come to school?'”

Ms. Audrey Greene, Targeted Special Populations coordinator, said “This school year, student attendance has not improved. Not many kids come to school regularly.”

But that’s not the only problem, she added. The problem, she said, is that “every day a student is absent means that we lose money.”

The cost of not attending? $90 per student per day.

And when you have a large number of absences, that number adds up to tens of thousands of dollars. For example, if 169 students end up being absent, then the school loses over $15,000 that day.

She explained that if schools lose a lot of money, there will be larger class sizes and fewer advanced classes might lack resources for students and there could be fewer teachers to attend school, too, and in some cases no teachers at all.

However, if schools gain funding, they can qualify for teachers, stable learning environments, and other support needs for students.

The problem, she said, began with the COVID-19 pandemic.  

“We came back to campus in 2021, I think it was late April just for a soft start,” she said.

“But I think people saw that school doesn’t have to happen, and what people found out, I think, even adults found out, that they don’t have to be at school for teaching to happen because they can do it through their computers and zoom, that they don’t have to be in person all the time.”

“I think when it was decided we were all going back to school after quarantine, many people would decide not to go back,” Ms. Greene said. “They wouldn’t feel the urgency to be somewhere in person.”

Enrollment dropped by a record 2.6 percent in 2020-21 and an additional almost 2 percent in 2021-22, resulting in a loss of 270,000 students statewide, as mentioned in Policy Analysis for California Education. 

CATS is not the only school with attendance issues.

Below are the attendance percentages within Diego Rivera Learning Complex, including Green Design, Performing Arts, and Public Service.

Chronic: The percentage of students who are absent for more than 15 days.

Basic or above: Students who have fewer than 15 absences.

According to quadeducationgroup.com, unexcused absences can significantly harm the student’s academic performance by causing them to miss important lessons and fall behind with their assignments. All of this can follow up with lower grades, a weaker understanding of the material, and a burst of stress when trying to catch up.

Regular attendance is important for meeting academic requirements since unexcused absences may also affect the ability to graduate.

Not only will it affect the student through high school, but it may also affect the student through college admissions decisions and future academic opportunities. Regular attendance is essential for a successful academic journey.