Escondido Union School District Budget Update

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Escondido Union School DistrictBudget Update

• The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)
• 4-16-09

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FEDERAL STIMULUS PROVISIONS

• American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)
  Goals are to
• Preserve and create jobs
• Assist those most impacted by the recession
• Invest in infrastructure and other projects for
  long-term economic benefit
• Stabilize state and local budgets to minimize
  reductions in essential services and minimize tax
  increases

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Federal Stimulus Amounts
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Federal Stimulus Timelines
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State Fiscal Stabilization Funds (SFSF)

• In keeping with federal intent, states are going
  to be required to follow a rigorous set of
  assurances, including that funding will be used
  to advance education reform in four areas
• Achieving equity in teacher distribution
• Improving collection and use of data
• Enhancing quality of standards and assessments
  (English learners and special education students)
• Supporting struggling schools

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State Fiscal Stabilization Funds (SFSF)

• States will also need to provide baseline data
  that demonstrate the states current status in
  each of the four reform areas
• States will also have to provide a description of
  how it intends to use its stabilization money
• SFSF funding will be awarded in two phases
• Phase one based on states application
• Second phase awarded after approval of states
  plan, which must also detail how a state will
  carry out the recordkeeping and reporting aspects
  of ARRA, and demonstrate how SFSF funds will be
  used in a fiscally prudent way to improve
  teaching and learning

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State Fiscal Stabilization Funds (SFSF)

• States must provide a level of support to
  education that is comparable to at least 2006
• Heavy accountability, transparency, and reporting
  requirements will need to be met by states and
  Local Education Agencies (LEAs)
• All stimulus monies will need to accounted for
  separately - all encumbered by Sept 30, 2011
• Californias application for SFSF was submitted
  on April 9, 2009 Feds intend to respond to
  states within 2 weeks of submission

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State Fiscal Stabilization Funds (SFSF)

• Districts will be required to submit an
  application to CDE in order to receive SFSF an
  application is currently being developed
• The assurances that appear on the state
  application are likely to reappear on the
  application required of LEAs
• The first allocation of funds could happen as
  early as May though amounts are still unknown
• Allocation of money to LEAs may mirror the
  2008-09 mid-year cuts one-half to revenue
  limits and one-half to categorical program
  restoration

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State Fiscal Stabilization Funds (SFSF)

• SFSF monies are considered the most flexible of
  the amounts included in the ARRA
• Funding is intended to save/create jobs
• Funding should be used to increase student
  performance
• States and LEAs are encouraged to use the money
  for innovative approaches to student achievement
• As with any federal funding, LEAs will be
  required to repay quarterly interest on any
  unused funds

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State Fiscal Stabilization Fund Competitive
Grants

• About 5 billion of federal stabilization monies
  held for competitive grants
• Race to the Top grants to states to help drive
  significant improvement in student achievement
• Awarded to states that have made significant
  progress in meeting the four assurances
• 650 million reserved for innovation awards
  that help expand successful practices, and
  provide the opportunity to work in partnership
  with the private sector and the philanthropic
  community

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Federal Stimulus Title I

• Focus for spending Title I ARRA monies is
  educational reform, accountability, and progress
  on assurances
• In its committee report for the ARRA, Congress
  strongly encourages LEAs to use some of the Title
  I funding to expand early childhood programs and
  secondary school programs
• Department of Education advises LEAs to invest
  these one-time monies carefully, and in a way
  that does not result in unsustainable commitments
  once the funding is gone
• CDE working with USDE on waiver of carryover
  rules and maintenance-of-effort requirements

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Federal Stimulus Title I

• 50 of funding has already arrived in CA second
  phase dependent on changes to Consolidated
  Application process to increase reporting
  requirements
• Funding must be distributed based on current
  Title I allocation formulas and may only be used
  for Title I students at Title I sites
• All funding must follow the supplement, not
  supplant rules
• Program Improvement set-asides must be followed-
  5 teacher training and 20 for supplemental
  services to students

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Federal Stimulus IDEA Part B

• 50 of Californias supplemental IDEA funding has
  arrived but CDE needs legislative permission to
  release it to LEAs
• In order to receive the second phase of funding,
  CA must submit an amendment to its 2009
  application to address additional recordkeeping
  requirements
• All IDEA recovery funds must be obligated by
  September 30, 2011
• Use of funds must be consistent with all IDEA,
  Part B statutory and regulatory requirements

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Federal Stimulus IDEA Part B

• IDEA recovery funds are supplementary, thus, no
  supplanting
• Important up to 50 of the increased IDEA Part
  B funding may be used to offset local funding
  (encroachment) for the education of students with
  disabilities
• But, freed-up funds must be used for other
  activities allowable under Federal Elementary and
  Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
• LEAs are encouraged to use freed-up funds for
  one-time purposes consistent with SFSF goals
• There will be heavy reporting requirements on the
  use of any freed-up local funds

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Federal Stimulus Mixed Message?

• States and LEAs have been told they need to
• Hurry and spend to save/create jobs
• But, watch out for the funding cliff of
  unsustainable commitments
• But, spend in a fiscally prudent way
• But, all the old rules about supplement, not
  supplant and comparability still apply
• Try innovative approaches
• But, implement reforms and boost student
  achievement, too
• But, do so in a way that is more transparent than
  ever before
• But, you are being held accountable like never
  before, in some cases by regulations not even
  written yet

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Federal Stimulus Mixed Message?

• California School Boards Executive Director
  Scott Plotkin
• We continue to advise districts to use caution
  when considering the use of these stimulus
  funds.We appear to be getting mixed messages
  from the new secretary (Secretary of Education
  Arne Duncan), with strong admonitions to save
  jobs with these funds, but with another strong
  message about using the money for innovative
  approaches to student achievement.