Skip to content
Printer-friendly version
Letter Head: Jack O'Connell, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Phone number 916-319-0800

September 17, 2004

 

Dear County Superintendents of Schools, Auditors, and Treasurers:

NOTICE OF THE SPECIAL PURPOSE APPORTIONMENT
FOR PUPIL TRANSPORTATION, SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM,
AND ECONOMIC IMPACT AID
FISCAL YEAR 2004-05

This apportionment, in the amount of $1,372,791,255, is made from funds provided in the Budget Act of 2004 (Chapter 208, Statutes of 2004). These funds support the Pupil Transportation Program, School Improvement Program (SIP), and Economic Impact Aid (EIA) Program.

Pursuant to Education Code Section 14041(a)(5), payments will be made in ten installments beginning in September 2004 and ending in June 2005. In the fall of 2004, this apportionment will be recertified to include new fiscal year 2004-05 EIA and SIP entitlements, which have not been finalized as of this date. This apportionment will also be recertified in the future to adjust for excesses or deficiencies in accordance with Education Code Section 41334.

The Summary of Apportionment and the Monthly Payment Schedule show subtotals for the Pupil Transportation, SIP, and EIA funds. When making scheduled payments, the State Controller will issue one warrant to each county treasurer that will comprise the total payment for all local educational agencies (LEAs) within the county's jurisdiction.

Notice, Summary, and Exhibits Enclosed
  1. Notice of the Special Purpose Apportionment for Pupil Transportation, School Improvement Program, and Economic Impact Aid, Fiscal Year 2004-05
  2. Schedules of Apportionments-Computer Printout Tabulations
    1. Pupil Transportation
      1. Home-to-School Transportation-Exhibit I
      2. Special Education Transportation-Exhibit I-S
    2. School Improvement Program-Exhibit II
    3. Economic Impact Aid Program-Exhibit III
  3. Summary of Apportionments by County
  4. Monthly Payment Schedule
Program Notes

Pupil Transportation - The fiscal year 2004-05 estimated Home-to-School Transportation and Special Education Transportation apportionments have been certified based on the fiscal year 2003-04 entitlements. The fiscal year 2004-05 entitlements have been adjusted for fiscal year 2003-04 reorganizations and/or transfers of service that were submitted prior to September 1, 2004, and prior-year corrections submitted prior to July 1, 2004. Included for your information are prior-year exhibits that reflect corrections processed in August 2004. Please note the following:

  • Deferral of funds. Pursuant to the provisions of Senate Bill 1108, SEC. 36(a)(1)(D), Chapter 216, Statutes of 2004, $50.1 million of transportation funding was deferred from the 2004-05 program to 2005-06. As a result, school districts and county offices of education will receive approximately 92.7 percent of Home-to-School and approximately 92.6 percent of Special Education Transportation entitlements in the 2004-05 Special Purpose Apportionment. The deferred portion of the entitlements will be paid in a separate apportionment in July 2005.
  • Exhibit I, Column 6, identifies the fiscal year 2004-05 Home-to-School Transportation advance payment for each participating school district and county office of education. This is the estimated transportation allowance for pupils and special education pupils not severely handicapped or orthopedically handicapped (non-SH/OH). When Home-to-School Transportation is recertified in April with data collected on the Form TRAN for fiscal year 2003-04, school districts and county offices of education will be entitled to the lesser of their 2003-04 approved home-to-school expenses or their fiscal year 2003-04 home-to-school entitlement (including any supplemental grant add-on for fiscal 2003-04).
  • Exhibit I-S, Column 4, identifies the fiscal year 2004-05 Special Education Transportation advance payment for each participating school district and county office of education. This is the estimated transportation allowance for pupils that are severely handicapped or orthopedically handicapped (SH/OH). When Special Education Transportation is recertified in April with data collected on the Form TRAN for fiscal year 2003-04, school districts and county offices of education will be entitled to the lesser of their 2003-04 approved SH/OH expenses or their fiscal year 2003-04 special education entitlement.
  • School districts and county offices of education unable to fully expend their fiscal year 2003-04 entitlements and/or supplemental grant add-on (in the case of      Home-to-School Transportation) due to the deferrals will not have their entitlements reduced for 2004-05. However, school districts and county offices of education must spend all 2003-04 entitlements deferred to 2004-05 as well as their fiscal year 2004-05 entitlements (including any supplemental grant add-on) by the end of fiscal year 2004-05 to avoid a reduction in their fiscal year 2005-06 entitlements.

For standardized account code structure (SACS) coding, use Resource Code 7230, Transportation: Home to School, or Resource Code 7240, Transportation: Special Education (SH/OH), and Revenue Object Code 8311, Other State Apportionments-Current Year, for both home-to-school or special education transportation. For prior-year adjustments, use Revenue Object Code 8319, Other State Apportionments-Prior Year.

School Improvement Program -The Budget Act of 2004 provided $328,081,000 for K-6 School Improvement Program entitlements and $70,191,000 for grades 7-12 funding. This includes a 2.56 percent increase for growth and a 2.41 percent increase for a cost-of-living adjustment. The September payment is based on 2003-04 entitlements. After final fiscal year 2004-05 entitlements are calculated in the fall of 2004 the Special Purpose Apportionment will be recertified.

In Exhibit II, the amounts in the column entitled "Total Amount for Each Participating District" should be deposited to the account of the LEA indicated in the columns titled "District or Local Educational Agency." The list of member school districts in cooperatives (see the column titled "Member Districts in a Cooperative") and the amount of entitlements for these school districts (column titled "Amount for Each Participating District") are information for use by the county superintendents to ensure that funds are properly distributed to those school districts involved in the cooperative programs.  

There is no restriction on the amount of School Improvement Program funds that may be carried over from year to year. For standardized account code structure (SACS) coding, use Resource Codes 7260, School Improvement Program (SIP) and Revenue Object Code 8311, Other State Apportionments-Current Year. Districts may use at their option Resource Code 7265, School Improvement Program, to report separately funding for grades seven through twelve.

Economic Impact Aid - The Budget Act of 2004 provides $536,236,000 for the EIA program. The September certification is based on each district's fiscal year 2003-04 EIA entitlement amount. In the fall of 2004, EIA will be recertified after fiscal year 2004-05 entitlements are calculated.

In Exhibit III, the amounts in the column entitled "Amount for Each Operating District or Local Educational Agency" should be deposited to the account of the LEA indicated in the county-district code and "District or Local Educational Agency" columns.

There is no restriction on the amount of EIA funds that may be carried over from year to year. For SACS coding, use Resource Code 7090, Economic Impact Aid (EIA), and Revenue Object Code 8311, Other State Apportionments-Current Year.

Supplemental Grants Roll-In - Allocations for Supplemental Grants which may contribute to the Pupil Transportation, SIP, and EIA program selections made pursuant to Education Code Section 54761.2 will be paid in a separate apportionment.

Pupil Transportation, SIP and EIA for Charter Schools - All charter schools, with few exceptions, are funded through the charter school block grant funding model (Education Code commencing with Section 47633). This funding model provides categorical block grant funds in lieu of various categorical programs, including SIP and EIA. These block grant funds are allocated as part of the revenue limit Principal Apportionment process. As such, enrollment counts and average daily attendance for charter schools participating in the block grant funding model are excluded from district totals when computing the 2004-05 entitlements for SIP and EIA. For purposes of Pupil Transportation, however, Education Code Section 47612 deems a charter school to be a school district, and Education Code Section 41857 establishes eligibility for charter schools to apply for program funding. To establish base transportation funding for a charter school, the district must determine its cost to transport the charter school students previously served by the district. This will establish the separate transportation funding base for the charter school and result in a corresponding reduction to the district's allowance.

Additional Information/Questions

County superintendents should immediately notify LEAs in their county of the information included in this apportionment. In addition, this letter, along with the summary, monthly payment schedule, and LEA exhibit data, will be posted on the California Department of Education's Web Site at http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/ca/. General questions concerning this apportionment may be directed to Ross Valentine, Fiscal Services Assistant, Categorical Programs Unit, at (916) 327-4405 or by e-mail at rvalenti@cde.ca.gov. For specific program areas, please contact the Categorical Programs Unit staff as follows:

Program Contact Area Code (916) E-mail Address
Pupil Transportation Nancy Cook 324-4549 ncook@cde.ca.gov
School Improvement Felisha Zuniga 324-4555 fzuniga@cde.ca.gov
Economic Impact Aid Ross Valentine 327-4405 rvalenti@cde.ca.gov

Sincerely,

 

JACK O'CONNELL

Download Free Readers