Denver Public Schools announced on Thursday that it will use federal funding to keep its schools full and prevent layoffs due to enrollment decline.

The district has received $16 million in federal COVID-19 relief for this school year and received an additional $3 million to prevent layoffs, according to the district. 

“We will continue to look for ways to support our students, families and educators,” said DPS Superintendent Alex Marrero in a news release. “So that all members of Team DPS can continue to work together to lift up our scholars.”

Last month, Marrero said during the district’s monthly board of education meeting that elementary enrollment began declining in 2015 and that it’s an indicator of what’s to come. 

Many school districts across Colorado and the country are dealing with teacher and staffing shortages as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, DPS has temporarily switched to remote learning several times at specific schools due to such shortages. 

However, the district said despite the shortages, it continued to have a teacher-retention rate near 90% for the last three years. 

Next school year, DPS will receive $10.5 million in COVID-relief funds, along with about $6.5 million to help keep its schools fully staffed, according to the district.