The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act ARRA

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The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act
(ARRA)
This presentation was adapted from a US
Department of Education (USED) presentation to
the Council of Great City Schools at the Annual
Legislative/Policy Conference, March 14-17,
Washington, DC
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Unprecedented Investment in Education

• We are going to shape public education for the
  next 30 years within the next 5 years.
• The stimulus funds have to be used for reform,
  not to maintain the status quo.
• - Secretary Arne Duncan to the Council of the
  Great City Schools, March 15, 2009

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ARRA Guiding Principles

• Spend Quickly to Save and Create Jobs
• Ensure Transparency and Accountability
• Thoughtfully Invest One-time Funds
• Advance Effective Reforms
• Note The first and fourth principles may be at
  odds with one another over the life of the funds.

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Advancing Effective Reforms

• College and career-ready standards and high
  quality, valid and reliable assessments for all
  students including ELLs and students with
  disabilities
• Pre-K to higher education data systems that meet
  the 10 principles in the America Competes Act
• Teacher effectiveness and equitable distribution
  (placement) of effective teachers
• Intensive support and effective interventions for
  lowest-performing schools

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FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

• Four Major Revenue Sources
• Other Potential Revenue Streams

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ARRA FundingFour major sources for K-12

• State Fiscal Stabilization Funds
• 48.6 billion nationally
• 667 million for the State of Minnesota
• TBD million for SPPS (supplanting state funds)
• Title I, Part A
• 10 billion nationally
• 94 million for State of Minnesota
• 18 million for SPPS
• IDEA, Part B
• 11.3 billion nationally
• 190 million for State of Minnesota
• 11 million for SPPS
• School Construction
• Tax credit structure no new capital dollars
• 22 billion nationally
• 30-32 million for SPPS (tax credit)

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ARRA Funding Other revenue sources

• There are several other grants that SPPS may be
  able to access
• Some are only available to states others to
  districts through competitive grants
• McKinney Vento Homeless Ed (70 million)
• Impact Aid (100 million total, 40 by formula)
• Vocational Rehab (540 million)
• Independent Living (140 million, 52.5 million by
  formula)
• Pell and Work Study (17.3 billion)
• Title I School Improvement Grants (3 billion)
• Statewide Data Systems (250 million)
• Teacher Incentive Fund (200 million)
• Teacher Quality Enhancement (100 million)
• It is unclear how much, if any, of these funds
  SPPS will receive

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ALLOCATIONS AND RESTRICTIONS

• State Fiscal Stabilization Funds
• Title I, Part A
• IDEA, Part B (Special Education)
• School Construction

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State Fiscal Stabilization Fund

• Largest source of funding for education
  Minnesota expects to receive over 820 million,
  667 million dedicated to education (K-12 and
  higher ed)
• Governor Pawlenty has proposed using 424 million
  to free up state general funds for schools
  remaining funds to higher ed
• Only 28 million appears to be unaccounted for
  funding from previous projections
• Bottom line no real budget relief for SPPS

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Title I, Part A

• Estimated 18 million allocation to SPPS for use
  between SY 2009-2010 and SY 2010-2011
• All Title I requirements apply, US Department of
  Education (USED) may consider some waivers around
  AYP sanctions
• Supplement Not Supplant is not subject to waivers
• Title I has significant limits on use of funds
  for districtwide activities only Title I
  schools can benefit
• Professional development related to district AYP
  improvement is only major exception

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IDEA, Part B (Special Education)

• Estimated 11 million allocation to SPPS for use
  in SY 2009-2010 and SY 2010-2011
• IDEA allows up to 15 of total funds
  (approximately 3 million) to be used for Early
  Intervening Services
• state may order districts to reserve these funds
  to address over-identification
• Under certain circumstances, a district may
  reduce the level of State and local expenditures
  by up to 50 of the increase, as long as the
  district uses the freed up funds for activities
  authorized by NCLB (5.5 million using current
  estimates).
• SPPS does not see this as a long-term sustainable
  option
• Bullets 2 and 3 are inter-related and not
  conjunctive if district is ordered to do EIS,
  the district cannot use the flexibility granted
  under Bullet 3, according to USED

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School Construction

• Tax credit to subsidize interest for school
  construction and renovations approximately
  30-32 million total over next two years (will
  result in 17 million in interest savings)
• Essentially, SPPS issues the bonds for an
  eligible project district must cover the
  principal
• US Treasury will provide a tax credit to the
  holder in the amount of the interest that the
  district would have normally paid
• SPPS eligible for subsidies directly from USED,
  rather than through State of Minnesota
• District must use existing bonding authority for
  issuance of bonds

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Secretary Duncan to Invest in Innovation

• USED given 5 billion to award competitively to
  states and districts for advancing reform
• Race to the Top
• 4.35 billion to states by Spring 2010 making
  the most progress towards the priorities
• Investing in What Works and Innovation
• 650 million competitive grants to districts and
  non-profits that have made significant gain in
  closing achievement gaps to be models of best
  practice

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DISBURSEMENT TIMELINES

• Entitlement ProgramsCompetitive Grants

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Timeline (Entitlement Programs)

• Over 50 of the formula funds will arriving
  before May 2009
• SFSF (67)
• Title I, Part A (50)
• IDEA, Part B (50)
• The remaining of the formula driven funds will
  arrive no later than September 30, 2009
• Distribution by MDE is still to be determined
  many funds likely to start July 1, 2009
• Competitive grants will follow many different
  timelines

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Timeline (Competitive Grants)

• Many grants to districts will be available in the
  next 12 months, from MDE or USED
• MDE will administer over 30 million in Title I
  school improvement grants within the next two
  years
• USED will offer competitive grants to districts
  as well Teacher Incentive Fund and Investing in
  What Works and Innovation

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ADDITIONAL FEDERAL GUIDANCE

• Transparency and Accountability
• Accountability and Risk Management

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Transparency and Accountability

• All funds must be tracked separately
• Description on use of the funds
• Quarterly reports on both financial information
  and program outcomes/results
• Estimated numbers of jobs created/saved
• Subcontracts and subgrants must comply with the
  Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency
  Act
• Expect multiple requests for information on the
  use of the funds must be willing to stand by the
  uses
• Opponents to ARRA have targeted education funding
  for oversight urban districts will be on the
  front lines of these requests

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Accountability and Risk Management

• Root cause of most failures lack of effective
  design or implementation of proper internal
  controls
• Potential problems with these funds
• Unallowable personnel costs
• Unallowable expenditure of funds or unreasonable
  expenditure of funds
• Inadequate contracts, lack of oversight or
  approval
• Poor internal controls over expenditures
  (purchase cards, gift cards)
• Incomplete, inaccurate, untimely personnel
  activity reporting
• Bottom line SPPS will have to provide greater
  oversight to these funds than usual

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NEXT STEPS

• SPPS Draft Proposed Initiatives
• Engagement Process
• Implementation Timeline

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DRAFT PROPOSED INITIATIVES

• SPPS has begun to develop proposals for use of
  ARRA funding to advance effective reforms in the
  following areas
• College and Career Readiness
• Interventions (for Lowest-Performing Students and
  Schools)
• Teacher Effectiveness
• Education Data Systems
• Refer to slides 24-36 for additional information

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Engagement Process

• Current ideas reflect feedback from SPPS Cabinet
  and Principals
• Web-based survey is currently posted on the SPPS
  website www.spps.org (more than 500 responses to
  date)
• Administration will continue to engage
  stakeholders through existing staff and community
  meetings
• SPPS Cabinets (March 19)
• SPPS Principals/Administrators (March 20-25)
• Special Education Advisory Panel (April 8)
• Title I Advisory Panel (April May)
• Labor Management Committee (April - May)
• Parent Advisory Committees (April May)
• SPPS Staff Forums (May 12, May 28)

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Implementation Timeline

• February April 2009
• Review of legislation and federal guidance
• Development of proposals for federal stimulus
  initiatives
• Vetting proposal with internal and external
  stakeholders
• April- May 2009
• Present preliminary recommendations to Board and
  community
• Vetting proposal with stakeholders
• Community input regarding proposed initiatives
• May June 2009
• Finalize federal stimulus proposals
• Board adoption of FY 10 Budget (including federal
  stimulus spending authority)
• July 2009
• Begin implementation of federal stimulus
  initiatives

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DRAFT SPPS PROPOSED FEDERAL STIMULUS
INITIATIVES

• College and Career Readiness
• Interventions (for Lowest-Performing Students and
  Schools)
• Teacher Effectiveness
• Education Data Systems

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ARRA FundingFour major sources for K-12

• State Fiscal Stabilization Funds
• 48.6 billion nationally
• 667 million for the State of Minnesota
• TBD million for SPPS (supplanting state funds)
• Title I, Part A
• 10 billion nationally
• 94 million for State of Minnesota
• 18 million for SPPS
• IDEA, Part B
• 11.3 billion nationally
• 190 million for State of Minnesota
• 11 million for SPPS
• School Construction
• Tax credit structure no new capital dollars
• 22 billion nationally
• 30-32 million for SPPS (tax credit)

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Planning Assumptions

• Use two-years of stimulus funding as leverage for
  sustainable long-term district-wide change
• Implement well-designed research-based systems
  that maximize resources
• Increase fidelity of implementation through
  alignment with existing efforts
• Use a project management approach to set and meet
  clear benchmarks and timelines

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College and Career Readiness

• SPPS will use stimulus funding to advance the
  following effective reforms
• Implement a comprehensive audit of PreK-12
  curriculum to ensure the rigor of academic
  courses and identify the efficacy of current
  interventions
• Identify and implement consistent assessment
  tools (benchmark, end-of-course exams, progress
  monitoring) to continuously measure student
  performance and provide timely information for
  instruction
• Implement specific elementary and secondary
  reform efforts to ensure alignment within and
  across schools and support seamless transitions
  for students

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College and Career Readiness(Elementary Reform
Efforts)

• SPPS will use stimulus funding to advance the
  following effective reforms
• Ensure fidelity of implementation of
  research-based reading curriculum through
  job-embedded professional development
• Enhance current coaching model to increase direct
  support to schools for instructional improvement
• Systematic tiered interventions for literacy,
  math and behavior

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College and Career Readiness(Secondary Reform
Efforts)

• SPPS will use stimulus funding to advance the
  following effective reforms
• Two-year instructional coaching surge to provide
  intense support and accountability for tiered
  interventions in literacy, math and behavior
• Accelerate development and consistent
  implementation of district curriculum in literacy
  and math
• Identify and implement research-based content
  literacy reform (e.g., READ 180, AMP Reading,
  EDGE Reading, Disciplinary Literacy, Content
  Literacy Continuum)

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Interventions (Students)

• SPPS will use stimulus funding to advance the
  following interventions for low-performing and
  struggling students
• Develop and implement a Response to Intervention
  (RTI) model that matches instruction to student
  needs and provides different levels of support as
  needed
• Develop and implement a Positive Behavioral
  Intervention System (PBIS) to decrease office
  referrals and suspensions, and improve
  attendance, school climate and behaviors
• Integrate cultural proficiency into our
  practices, to address factors that contribute to
  achievement gaps, including disproportionate
  referral and identification of children of color
  to special education

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Interventions (Students)
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Interventions (Schools)

• Schools not meeting district and state
  expectations for two or more years will have less
  autonomy.
• Intensive guidance and support may require
• Targeted Title I allocations to support reform
  initiatives through
• Professional Development
• Materials and Technology
• Approved program changes to revitalize academic
  offerings, outcomes and enrollment
• Dual Language/Immersion
• STEM
• AVID expansion
• Redesigned academic school day and school year
  and effective use of out of school time
• Ongoing reform of summer school
• Pilot Ideal Day
• Creative and effective use of (e.g., Washington
  Technology, KIPP, Uncommon Schools, etc.)

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Teacher Effectiveness

• SPPS will use stimulus funding to advance the
  following
• Develop and implement a monitored structure for
  teacher placement
• Realign staff resources and program models to
  improve support to teachers in the IEP process
• Enhance professional development to expand the
  current collaboration between general education,
  special education and school leaders
• SPPS will also apply for "Investing in What
  Works" and "Innovation" grants that could be used
  to offer incentives to schools and teachers with
  demonstrated success

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Education Data Systems

• SPPS will use stimulus funding to develop,
  enhance and align data systems to
• Better track and evaluate student performance
• Monitor and reform curriculum and instructional
  practices
• Review and redesign staff development efforts
• Reduce paperwork burden on teachers
• Improve compliance and better manage special
  education staffing

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Estimated Spending Plan

• Title I - 18 Million
• Direct aid to Title I schools (8M)
• Secondary Reform PD (4M)
• Elementary Reform PD(3M)
• Required Set-asides
• Non-public programming (1M)
• Parent Involvement required set-asides (.2M )
• AYP District Improvement (1.8M)

• IDEA - 11 Million
• Early Intervening Services (3M)
• Assessment and Data Systems
• RTI
• PBIS
• Special Education Reform (8M)
• Gen Ed/Spec Ed Collaboration
• Improve IDEA Compliance
• Assistive Technology

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Estimated Staffing Impact

• Implementation of the proposed federal stimulus
  fund initiatives will require new short-term
  positions
• SPPS roughly estimates that several positions may
  be redesigned or newly created for the next two
  years
• Title I up to 50 FTEs (district and
  school-based)
• IDEA up to 30 FTEs
• Staff impacted by recent budget cuts may qualify
  for these new positions

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QUESTIONS??