Ltr1-12: Categorical Consolidation

August 10, 2012

Dear County Superintendents of Schools:

NOTICE OF THE FIRST APPORTIONMENT
FOR THE 2012–13 CATEGORICAL CONSOLIDATION
FISCAL YEAR 2012–13

This apportionment, in the amount of $212,021,888, is made from funds provided by various Items of the Budget Act of 2012 (Chapter 21, Statutes of 2012), as follows:

• 6110-108-0001 -         Middle & High School Counseling
• 6110-122-0001 -         Specialized Secondary
• 6110-122-0001(1) -     Specialized Secondary- California State University
• 6110-137-0001(1) -     Math & Reading Professional Development
• 6110-137-0001(3) -     Math & Reading Professional Development, English Learners
• 6110-144-0001 -         Administrator Training Program (ATP)
• 6110-150-0001 -         American Indian Early Childhood Education- Pre-K to 4
• 6110-181-0001 -         Education Technology
• 6110-193-0001(1) -     Staff Development - Bilingual Teacher Training
• 6110-193-0001(2) -     Staff Development - Peer Assistance and Review
• 6110-195-0001 -         National Board Certification for Teachers
• 6110-198-0001 -         California School Age Families Education (Cal-SAFE)
• 6110-204-0001 -         California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE)
• 6110-227-0001 -         Community Based English Tutoring (CBET)
• 6110-228-0001 -         School Safety and Violence Prevention (SSVP)
• 6110-232-0001 -         Class Size Reduction, Grade Nine (CSR-9)
• 6110-240-0001(1) -     International Baccalaureate Diploma Program
• 6110-240-0001(2) -     Advanced Placement (AP)
• 6110-243-0001 -         Pupil Retention Block Grant (PRBG
• 6110-244-0001 -         Teacher Credential Block Grant (TCBG)
• 6110-245-0001 -         Professional Development Block Grant (PDBG)
• 6110-246-0001 -         Targeted Instructional Improvement Block Grant (TIIBG)
• 6110-247-0001 -         School and Library Improvement Block Grant (SLIBG)
• 6110-248-0001 -         School Safety Competitive Block Grant
• 6110-260-0001 -         Physical Education Teacher Incentive Program (PETIP)
• 6110-265-0001 -         Arts and Music Block Grant
• 6110-266-0001 -         County Oversight, Williams and Valenzuela Case Settlements
• 6110-267-0001 -         Certificated Staff Mentoring
• 6110-268-0001 -         Child Oral Health Assessment

Warrants will be mailed to each county treasurer approximately three weeks from the date of this Notice. For standardized account code structure coding, use Resource Code 0000, Unrestricted, and Revenue Object Code 8590, All Other State Revenue.

The county superintendents of schools were notified of this apportionment by e-mail which was sent to their CDEfisc e-mail addresses. The California Department of Education (CDE) requested that the e-mail be forwarded to all school districts and charter schools in the county, and included the links to this letter and the apportionment schedule which is posted on the CDE Web pages at http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/ca/consolidations559.asp.

The California Education Code (EC) Section 42605 authorizes complete flexibility by a school district, county office of education, and charter school in the use of funds appropriated in the state budget for fiscal years 2008–09 through 2014–15 for numerous budget items, including the funds formerly restricted to the programs included in this apportionment. School districts, county offices of education, and charter schools may now use the funds formerly restricted to these programs for any educational purpose. The funds are therefore unrestricted and should be accounted for as such. With the exceptions noted below, program and funding requirements as otherwise provided in statute, regulation, and budget act provisional language associated with the funding are not in effect.

The EC Section 42605 (e) provides an exception with respect to the following programs:

Cal-SAFE Child Care: If a school district or county office of education operates the child care component of the Cal-SAFE program, it must comply with paragraphs (5) and (6) of subdivision (c) of EC Section 54746 regarding the health, safety, and program quality requirements for Cal-SAFE child care and development centers.

National Board Certification for Teachers: This provision requires a school district or county office of education to continue distributing funds to teachers who were in the Incentive Program prior to April 2009 until the teacher has received his or her full award. Funds that are not needed for this purpose are flexible.

Williams and Valenzuela Case Settlement County Oversite: A county office of education shall conduct at least one site visit to each of the required schoolsites pursuant to Section 1240 and shall fulfill all of the duties set forth in Sections 1240 and 44258.9.

Each local educational agency’s (LEA’s) entitlement to 2012–13 funds from each flexible program was calculated based on the same relative proportion of funds that each LEA received in the base year of funding; this amount was then reduced to reflect the funding decrease enacted in Control Section 12.42 of the Budget Act of 2012. Pursuant to the provisions of EC Section 14401.1, payments for the flexed programs are to be made in twelve installments beginning in July and ending in June. Under the new “5-5-9” schedule, five percent of the annual entitlement is to be allocated in each of July and August and nine percent in each month thereafter through the following June. In order to timely allocate funds, the July and August 2012 payments are combined in this apportionment and equal 10 percent of each LEA’s 2011–12 entitlement. The September 2012 payment will equal 19 percent of each LEA’s 2012–13 calculated entitlement less the amount advanced for the months of July and August 2012. The subsequent monthly warrants will equal the monthly payment percentage times the LEA’s 2012–13 entitlement.

In order to reduce the number of monthly payments an LEA may receive, the monthly payments for 34 of the flexible categorical programs have been consolidated into a single payment each month to each LEA. The resulting Schedule of the 2012–13 Categorical Consolidation is posted on the CDE Web site at http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/ca/consolidations559.asp and shows the monthly payment to each LEA by program as well as the total combined monthly payment.

Individual program schedules are posted on the CDE Categorical Programs Web page at http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/ca/ under the program name, fiscal year 2012–13. Individual program schedules will not be posted for the combined July and August 2012 advance payment at this time but will be posted with the September 2012 apportionment. Each apportionment schedule identifies the amount for direct-funded charter schools separate from the district or county amount. Funding associated with all other charter schools is included in the district or county amount. The individual schedules also show the funding reduction to basic aid districts pursuant to Section 57 of Senate Bill (SB) 70 (Chapter 7, Statutes of 2011) as amended by SB 81 (Chapter 2, Statutes of 2012).

SB 81 requires that 2012–13 categorical funding allocations to school districts that were basic aid in fiscal year 2011–12 be reduced by the lesser of: (1) the district’s 2011–12 total revenue limit subject to the deficit factor, calculated as of the 2011–12 certified second principal apportionment, multiplied by 9.57 percent or (2) the amount of the district’s excess taxes. In implementation of SB 81, basic aid districts receive no funding in this advance apportionment. The apportionment reduction for basic aid school districts applies to fiscal year 2012–13 only and their entitlement to funds in subsequent years for these programs will not be affected. To view the list of basic aid districts and the total amount to be reduced from their 2012–13 categorical funding allocations, please go to the CDE Web page at http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/ca/documents/basicaidcut2012.xls.

Charter Schools that receive funding through the Charter School Categorical Block Grant (CSCBG) are eligible to receive separate funding for the programs included in this apportionment because in lieu funding for these programs is not provided through the CSCBG. Direct funded non-conversion charter schools that were new in 2008–09, however, will not be receiving funds in this apportionment. Instead, for the 2011–12 to the 2014–15 fiscal years, inclusive, they will receive a Supplemental Categorical Block Grant (SCBG) payment pursuant to EC Section 42606. The SCBG is equal to $127 per unit of charter school average daily attendance as determined at the current year second principal apportionment and provides in lieu funding for a variety of categorical programs not included in the CSCBG, including the programs in this apportionment. Pursuant to EC Section 42606(2) in lieu of the SCBG, a school district shall provide new conversion charter schools that commenced operations within the district during or after the 2008–09 fiscal year, $127 dollars per unit of charter school average daily attendance as determined at the current year principal apportionment or a negotiated alternative funding rate.

If you have any questions regarding this apportionment, please contact Marcie Gregory, Fiscal Consultant, Categorical Allocations and Management Assistance Office, by phone at 916-324-4537 or by e-mail at mgregory@cde.ca.gov [Note: the preceding contact information is no longer valid and has been replaced by Julie Klein Briggs, Fiscal Consultant, Categorical Allocations & Management Assistance Unit, by phone at 916-323-6191 or by e-mail at jbriggs@cde.ca.gov.].

Sincerely,

Jeannie Oropeza, Deputy Superintendent
Services for Administration, Finance, Technology, and Infrastructure Branch