MAYNARDVILLE, Tenn. — At the end of the school year, six Union County Schools teachers and two teaching assistants were notified their contracts would not be renewed.
Greg Clay, the Union County Director of Schools, said the loss of federal ESSER funding and Title I funding is to blame.
"That was a substantial amount of money, there's over a million dollars of funding that went away," Clay said. "We kind of evaluated where we are as a system, as far as what staffing needs we have."
ESSER stands for "Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief," funds created by the CARE Act in 2020 in an effort to provide funding to public and charter schools during the COVID-19 Pandemic. That money was intended for virtual learning tools, school safety equipment and to prevent learning loss.
East Tennessee schools used millions of dollars, allocated in several installments since 2020. Districts have to configure their 2024-2025 fiscal year budgets without these funds.
Schools across East Tennessee spent the money in several ways. Anderson County Schools said they spent the money on one-time expenses, like a new wing of classrooms at Norris Middle School, new HVAC units, technology for classrooms, new windows and security upgrades.
Sevier County Schools said it used the money to fund permanent or one-time investments like instructional materials, technology and high-speed internet, air purification and transportation.
However, the school system also funded personnel, summer programs and tutoring.
"Expenses for personnel and programming will have to be assumed by the district to maintain the support and offerings on which students have come to depend," said Tony Ogle in an email, the Assistant Superintendent of Student Services.
Union County Schools said as a rural school district, that isn't possible.
Union County Schools used its federal ESSER money to fund positions they lacked at every school like counselors, reading interventionists, and school nurses. They also set aside some money for a new middle school.
With over $1 million in ESSER funds lost, in combination with a loss of Title I money to the district, UCS had to cut staff.
"If you had a person who was an interventionist, they went into a classroom, back to a classroom position, which pushed another teacher out," Clay said. "We tried to make as minimal impact as possible, especially people who had direct service with kids."