Ltr2-09: Categorical Consolidations #2

November 2, 2009

Dear County Superintendents of Schools, Auditors, and Treasurers:

NOTICE OF THE FIRST APPORTIONMENT
FOR THE SECOND CONSOLIDATED CATEGORICAL PAYMENT
FISCAL YEAR 2009-10

This apportionment, in the amount of $204,563,995, is made from funds provided by Items 6110-181-0001, 6110-193-0001(2), 6110-198-0001, 6110-228-0001, 6110-232-0001 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). These five budget items provide funding for six programs including Statewide Education Technology Services, California Technology Assistance Project, Peer Assistance and Review, California School-Age Families Education, School Safety and Violence Prevention, and Class Size Reduction Grade Nine. 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 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 page 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 these 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 local educational agency’s (LEA’s) entitlement to 2009-10 funds for each of the six programs. Pursuant to EC Section 42605, entitlements for the two Educational Technology programs, Peer Assistance and Review, and School Safety and Violence Prevention were calculated based on the same relative proportion of funds that each LEA received in 2008-09 for each program, and entitlements for the California School-Age Families Education, and Class Size Reduction Grade Nine were calculated based on the same relative proportion of funds that each LEA received in 2007-08 for each program. The initial entitlements were then reduced by approximately 19.8 percent to reflect the funding reduction enacted in Control Section 12.42 of the Budget Act of 2009. In addition, funding for five of the programs was reduced by 0.32 percent based on the budgeted decline in state attendance.

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 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 November 2009 warrant for each LEA will consist of the July, August, September, October, and November payments and will equal 37 percent of each LEA’s total entitlement to funds provided by the revised Budget Act of 2009. In December 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 programs will be aggregated into a single payment each month. The Schedule of Apportionment for the Second Consolidated Categorical Payment shows the total monthly payment for each LEA and the breakdown by program, and is posted on the CDE Web page at http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/ca/consolidation5-5-9.asp. The individual schedules of apportionment showing the monthly payments for each program are posted at the following locations:

Educational Technology (Statewide Education Technology Services and California Technology Assistance Project): http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/ca/edtechnology.asp 

Peer Assistance and Review: http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/ca/par.asp

California School-Age Families Education: http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/ca/calsafe.asp [Note: the preceding program is no longer administered by CDE]

Class Size Reduction Grade Nine: http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/ca/mhcsr9thgrade.asp

School Safety and Violence Prevention: http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/ca/ssvpp.asp

If you have any questions regarding this apportionment, please contact Christina Schlueter, Analyst, Categorical Allocations and Management Assistance Unit, at 916-324-9806 or by e-mail at cschlueter@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