Student head counts factor into public school funding, and a 2% drop nationally in K-12 enrollment during the pandemic is a budget red flag that districts are watching carefully. It’s a looming “crisis,” says Marguerite Roza, director of Edunomics Lab at Georgetown University. If missing students never return, “the system is going to have to figure out how to adjust on lower dollars.” Why We Wrote This School funding formulas matter more than usual this year after steep pandemic-related declines in attendance. But federal and state efforts to assist are already underway. Mostly remote districts generally have surpluses, which could pad budgets next year. But districts operating mostly in person are more likely overspending and counting on extra relief.