Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
- What is a centralized service?
A centralized service is an activity funded by a school allocation but administered by the local educational agency central office. The activity would be included in the 15 percent if it is an administrative cost or would be part of the 85 percent if it is a direct service to students. Examples of centralized services include:
- English language proficiency testing of students at a central location;
- Professional development activities for multiple schools;
- Shared costs of staff members (e.g., nurses, instructional aides, or teachers) who provide services to multiple schools.
- Centralized services must be itemized as proposed expenditures in the SPSA and approved by the SSC and local school board.
- What are the maximum administrative costs that can be charged to
Title I?
Districts have a set amount of funds for indirect costs, which are a type of administrative cost. Administrative costs, including those funded through centralized services, school level administrative costs, and indirect costs may not exceed 15 percent. Expenditures for personnel engaged in district administrative or planning activities can be included in the administrative costs charged to Title I. Also included are expenditures for salaries and benefits for:
- District Administrative Personnel;
- District program personnel, either certificated or classified;
- Itinerant staff based at the district, except for the time engaged in directly instructing pupils, providing professional development activities directly related to the purposes of the Title I program, or traveling to or from school sites for the delivery of instruction or staff development;
- School program administrators, to the extent they do not provide direct instruction or conduct professional development activities to meet the specific student needs consistent with Title I purposes.
- What is the definition of a direct service to students?
Direct services are those that are delivered at the school site where the student is the direct recipient or beneficiary of the services. Expenditures for personnel are justified as direct service and for inclusion in the 85 percent if the personnel are providing direct, hands-on instruction to students or the services being provided are so integral to the instructional program that not to provide the services would affect the quality of the instruction itself and the academic success of students.
For example, an LEA may include in the 85 percent, the salaries and benefits of such certificated personnel as specialist or resource teachers, school nurses, school librarians, school counselors, classified instructional aides, and school program administrators, to the extent that they provide direct instruction or conduct professional development to meet specific Title I student needs.
Similarly, allowable expenditures for operating expenses and equipment when the purposes meet the specific needs of eligible Title I students might include:
- Acquisition, installation, relocation, maintenance, and repair of instructional equipment, e.g., computer hardware;
- Contract services, including consultant services to work with eligible pupils and to work with teachers who have special needs to upgrade their instructional skills for the direct benefit of students;
- Pupil services for Title I students in private schools;
- Program evaluation at school sites;
- Pupil evaluation, including testing and data processing;
- School library materials for use by students;
- School site councils;
- Supplementary instructional materials and supplies, including computer software;
- Staff development activities to meet specific student academic needs.
- When does an LEA identify the funds that are to be set aside for indirect costs?
Indirect costs are calculated before district reservations and before funds are allocated to schools. Since the calculation is just an estimate, the actual indirect costs are subtracted at the end of the year based on how much funding was expended. In other words, an LEA allowed a three percent indirect cost rate out of the total Title I annual allocation would budget for it on the ConApp. The LEA would only charge indirect costs equal to three percent of its eligible expenditures at the end of the year. For example, an LEA that is allowed a three percent indirect cost rate out of a total Title I allocation of $100,000, would indicate an amount of $2,913 on the ConApp. However, if the district only has eligible expenditures of $90,000 of the Title I allocation by the end of the year, the LEA would only be allowed an indirect cost amount of $2,700 ($90,000 x .03 = $2,700).
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