Right about now, many area schools are poised to make budget decisions that, in time, could affect whether some students continue to attend.
This spring budget season has presented school committees across the state with two sets of numbers trending in the wrong direction: More children are missing larger chunks of class time compared to five years ago. And the federal government has stopped the flow of pandemic money to schools.
Against this backdrop, the most conscientious school administrators and teachers are trying to figure out how to bring back students who have been chronically absent since the pandemic began in March 2020.
