Region Three Pilot“Virtual” Consolidation

Consolidation Legislation and Guidance

Title I Schoolwide Fiscal Guidance issued February, 2008 [Section E]

Designing Schoolwide (SW) Programs Guidance

Consolidation Legislation and

GuidanceEDGAR

Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-87

69 FED. REG. 40360-64 (JULY 2, 2004)

What Does Consolidation Mean?

Schoolwide school treats the funds it is consolidating as a single “pool” of funds.

Funds from the contributing programs lose their identity.

The school uses funds from this consolidated schoolwide (SW) pool to support any activity of the SW program.

[Section E2]

What is the Purpose of Consolidation?

The purpose of consolidating funds is to help a SW program school effectively design and implement a comprehensive plan to upgrade the entire educational program in the school based on the school’s needs identified through its comprehensive needs assessment [E-1].

State Aid dollars and local tax revenue

Title I, Part A

Title II, Part A

Title II, Part D (purposes)

Which Funds can be Consolidated?

Title III (?)

Title VI (?)

Section 31a

Which Funds can be Consolidated?

Why Consolidate?

When State-aid and local tax revenue is pooled with

supplementary Federal funds and/or Section 31a, individual

funding streams lose their identity. This provides the school more flexibility in program implementation.

Flexibility

The district could not afford costs associated with grade level meeting time

for analyzing assessment data. This meeting time was not allowable out of any

of the supplementary programs. Now, these meetings can be implemented in

accordance with the SW Reform model and comprehensive SW plan. The funding

source becomes moot.

Flexibility Example

Flexibility Example

The school determines that the summer school program needs funds in excess of the available Title I allocation. In a consolidated SW program, IIA funds could be used to support direct instruction without the necessity of a “transfer”.

Time and Effort – DRAFT!!!

If State Aid and local tax revenue are pooled with Federal dollars and/or

Section 31a, and personnel are 100% funded with pooled dollars AND performing a single FUNCTION

Semi-Annual Certification documentation is streamlined.

(MDE will provide a template.)

Budget

Consolidated Application budgeting requirements are GREATLY reduced.

One district level budget that includes aggregate amounts for all

consolidated schools. Single item per function and cost objective.

No need to submit the Consolidated Application and Title I School Selection

by May 13th.

A July 1 submission date of a quality application will ensure mid-August

approval.

Due Date

LEA Planning Cycle

The requirement to complete the LEA Planning Cycle is

removed.

Amendments

Amendment process is streamlined.

If Section 31a funds are pooled, the requirement for Eligibility Worksheets and identification of eligible students is

eliminated.

Eligibility Worksheets

Increased technical support for schools and districts related to school improvement planning.

Technical Support

School Improvement Plan

Emphasis is on a high-quality plan rather than the level of description

included in the budget.

Eligible targeted schools can accelerate the year of planning to become a

consolidated SW school for 2011-12.

Targeted Schools

Consolidation Requirements

Comprehensive Needs Assessment

The school must conduct a comprehensive needs assessment

(using all four types of data) to identify gaps in student achievement and

identify needs of students, staff and other stakeholders.

Schoolwide Plan

Exceptional, comprehensive Schoolwide Plan that is focused

on an identified Schoolwide reform and aligned to the

comprehensive needs assessment.

Basic Program

Historical school-level basic educational program is identified

and continues to be offered. (MDE will provide a template.)

Identification of Consolidated Funds

SW school must identify in its SW plan which programs are included in its consolidation and the amount each

program contributes to the consolidated SW pool [E-2]. (See “Combining Funds in a

SW Program” Template.)

Equitable Services

Funds must still be shared with private schools as required by legislation.

Supplement not Supplant

Each school operating a SW program must receive all the State and local funds it would otherwise receive to operate its educational program in the absence of Title I, Part A or other [supplemental] education funds [E-2].

Intent and Purposes

The school must be able to demonstrate that its SW program contains sufficient resources and activities to reasonably address the intent and purposes of the included programs, particularly as they

relate to the lowest-performing students [E-14]. (See “Combining Funds in a SW

Program” Template.)

Other Program Responsibilities

Annual Title I, Part A meeting

Parent involvement

Agendas, sign-ins, bids, contracts

District required set-asides

Other Program Responsibilities

Maintenance of Effort

Title I Comparability

Title I School Selection

Health and Safety and Civil Rights

Record Keeping

Programmatic Record Keeping

Evidence that intent and purposes of programs were

fulfilled.

Financial Accounting

“Virtual” pooling – maintain multiple grant numbers, function codes and cost objectives.

Two drawdown options: (1) Proportionate charging (2) Sequence charging

Functional category reporting must still be maintained

State-Aid and local tax revenue must be distributed fairly and equitably to all schools–including SW program schools–without regard to whether

those schools are receiving Federal and State supplementary funds.

[E-18]

Financial Accounting

Financial Accounting

Comparability – Two Options:

(1) Proportionate charging (2) Other

Ability to determine if Federal funds are unspent at the end of the year.

Monitoring

Programmatic

Review of proposed activities

Activities linked to needs assessment

Research base

Monitoring

A school operating a SW program that is consolidating only Federal education funds and Section 31a funds must ensure these funds are being used only to address instructional needs that are identified in the SW plan and directly linked to the school’s needs assessment.

Monitoring

Goal:

100% Participation from Eligible Region 3

Schools

Current Status:

QUESTIONS