Ltr1-09: AB 825 Block Grants

October 23, 2009

Dear County Superintendents of Schools, Auditors, and Treasurers:

NOTICE OF THE FIRST APPORTIONMENT
FOR THE ASSEMBLY BILL 825 BLOCK GRANTS
FISCAL YEAR 2009-10

This apportionment, in the amount of $1,524,686,987, is made from funds provided by Items 6110-243-0001, 6110-244-0001, 6110-245-0001, 6110-246-0001, 6110-247-0001 and 6110-248-001 of the Budget Act of 2009 (Chapter 1, Statutes of 2009, Third Extraordinary Session) as amended by Assembly Bill 1 of the Fourth Extraordinary Session (Chapter 1, Statutes of 2009). This funding is provided for the six Assembly Bill (AB) 825 Block Grants which consist of the Pupil Retention Block Grant, Teacher Credentialing Block Grant, Professional Development Block Grant, Targeted Instructional Improvement Block Grant, School and Library Improvement Block Grant, and School Safety Consolidated Competitive Block Grant. Pursuant to the provisions of California Education Code (EC) Section 42605, these funds are now unrestricted and may be used for any educational purpose.

County superintendents are requested to immediately notify the school districts and charter schools in their county of this apportionment. This letter, and all referenced schedules can be found on the California Department of Education (CDE) categorical programs Web site at http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/ca/index.asp.

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 2012-13 for numerous budget items, including the funds formerly restricted to the AB 825 Block Grant programs. School districts, county offices of education, and charter schools may now use the funds formerly restricted to these programs for any educational purpose. Program and funding requirements as otherwise provided in statute, regulation, and budget act provisional language associated with the funding are not in effect. The funds are therefore unrestricted and should be accounted for as such. For standardized account code structure coding, use Resource Code 0000, Unrestricted, and Revenue Object Code 8590, All Other State Revenue.

This apportionment certifies each LEA’s entitlement to 2009-10 funds for each of the  AB 825 Block Grant programs. Pursuant to EC Section 42605, entitlements were calculated based on the same relative proportion of funds that each LEA received in 2008-09 for each AB 825 Block Grant. The initial calculations were then reduced to reflect the funding reduction enacted in Control Section 12.42 of the Budget Act. Control Section 12.42 reduced the 2009-10 budget item for each AB 825 Block Grant by 19.8 percent (and the 2008-09 budget items by 15.4 percent). In addition, funding for five of the AB 825 Block Grants was reduced in the revised budget act by 0.32 percent based on the decline in state attendance, and LEA entitlements were adjusted accordingly. Funding for the remaining block grant, Teacher Credentialing Block Grant, was reduced by $20.3 million based on lower participation levels reported for 2008-09, and LEA entitlements were adjusted accordingly. Altogether, LEA entitlements for the Teacher Credentialing Block Grant are 17.3 percent below the amounts allocated for 2008-09. For the other AB 825 Block Grants, LEA entitlements are 5.6 percent below the amounts allocated for 2008-09.

Payment Schedule

Pursuant to the provisions of EC Section 14041, as amended by  Senate Bill 16 of the Fourth Extraordinary Session (SBX4 16, Chapter 23, Statutes of 2009), payments for the AB 825 Block Grants 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 9 percent in each month thereafter through the following June. Due to the enactment of the revised budget act in late July 2009, the October 2009 warrant for each LEA will consist of the July, August, September and October payments and will equal 28 percent of each LEA’s total entitlement to funds provided by the revised Budget Act of 2009. In November 2009 through June 2010, LEAs will receive a payment equal to 9 percent of their annual entitlements.

In order to streamline the payment process, the monthly payments for the six AB 825 Block Grants will be aggregated into a single payment each month. The Consolidated Schedule of the First Apportionment for the Assembly Bill 825 Block Grants shows the total monthly payment for each LEA and the breakdown by block grant, and is posted on the CDE Web site at http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/ca/consolidation5-5-9.asp. The individual schedules of apportionment showing the monthly payments for each of the AB 825 Block Grants are posted at the following locations:

Pupil Retention Block Grant: http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/ca/pupilretention.asp

Teacher Credentialing Block Grant: http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/ca/tcbg.asp

Teacher Credentialing Block Grant- Regional: http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/ca/tcbg.asp

Professional Development Block Grant: http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/ca/profdev.asp

Targeted Instructional Improvement B.G: http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/ca/tiibg.asp

School & Library Improvement BG: http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/ca/schoollibrary.asp

School Safety Consolidated Competitive Grant: http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/ca/schoolcommunity.asp

School Safety Consolidated Competitive Grant- Training: http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/ca/schoolcommunity.asp

Charter schools that receive funding through the Charter School Categorical Block Grant (CSCBG) are not eligible to receive funds from any of the AB 825 Block Grants, with the exception of the Teacher Credentialing Block Grant, because they are included in the statutory list of programs for which charter schools may not apply separately due to participation in the CSCBG. The schedule of apportionment 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.

2008-09 Categorical Program Overpayment Recovery

For some LEAs, the October 2009 payment for the AB 825 Block Grants will be reduced below the amounts shown on the consolidated and individual block grant schedules of apportionment due to the recovery of 2008-09 overpayments for various categorical programs. Specifically, Section 34 of Senate Bill 4 of the Third Extraordinary Session, Chapter 12, Statutes of 2009 (SBX3 4), enacted in February 2009 to amend the Budget Act of 2008, reduced the appropriations of 50 budget act items by approximately 15.4 percent, and Section 43 directed that the Superintendent of Public Instruction reduce apportionments for school districts and county offices of education in order to recover any amounts already paid in excess of the February appropriation levels. As such, the recovery of $9,397,547 is being made from the October 2009 payment for the AB 825 Block Grants.

Other recoveries have been made from various Principal Apportionment payments made from May 2009 through September 2009, the September 2009 payment for Pupil Transportation, and, in September 2009, from the final payment for the 2008-09 Teacher Credentialing Block Grant. To view all recovery schedules, please visit the CDE Web site at http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/ca/recovery08.asp. After the recovery from the AB 825 Block Grants, all overpayments will have been collected.

If you have any questions regarding this apportionment, please contact Marcie Gregory, Education Fiscal Services Assistant, Categorical Allocations and Management Assistance Unit, 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,

Susan Lange, Deputy Superintendent
Finance, Technology, and Administration Branch