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Impact of Federal Stimulus Funds on your School District. THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PALM BEACH COUNTY Mike Burke, CFO May 15, 2009. Saving and Creating Jobs and Reforming Education.
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Impact of Federal Stimulus Funds on your School District THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PALM BEACH COUNTY Mike Burke, CFO May 15, 2009
Saving and Creating Jobs and Reforming Education “In a global economy where the most valuable skill you can sell is your knowledge, a good education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity - it is a pre-requisite. The countries that out-teach us today will out-compete us tomorrow.” - President Barack Obama, 2/24/09
Historic, One-time Investment Over $100 billion education investment Historic opportunity to stimulate economy and improve education Success depends on leadership, judgment, coordination, and communication
American Recovery and Reinvestment ActGuiding Principles • Spend quickly to save and create jobs. • Thoughtfully invest one time funds. • Advance effective reforms. • Ensure transparency and accountability.
American Recovery and Reinvestment ActAssurances – Advance Core Reforms • Achieve Equity in Teacher Distribution and Quality. • Enhance Academic Standards and Assessments. • Improve the Collection and Use of Data. • Support Struggling Schools.
Investment Strategies- Save and Create Jobs • Assign high-performing teachers to low-performing schools in tested areas. • Hire high-performing Teach for America (TFA) teachers in low-performing schools • Provide reading coaches and other appropriate coaches for all schools with focus on low-performing schools. • Provide district and school-level Response to Intervention(RtI) trained facilitators with focus on low-performing schools • Provide student services personnel for all schools with a focus on low-performing schools • Provide social workers and psychologists at all Title I and Correct II schools to address attendance, intervention strategies, testing/placement, RtI, and Positive Behavior Support (PBS)
Investment Strategies –Save and Create Jobs Continued: • Provide related services personnel for students with disabilities at all schools in order to provide services/therapies identified on the students’ Individualized Education Plans (IEPs); provide paraprofessionals in accordance with the students’ IEPs; and provide a full-time Exceptional Student Education (ESE) Specialist at all Title I schools and schools with more than 20% ESE enrollment • Increase Public School PreK to full day (VPK half-day, Title-I or IDEA PreK the remainder) during the school year in low-performing schools
Investment Strategies – Professional Development • Provide intensive professional development focused on the language arts standards including RtI, integration of technology and access points for students with disabilities and English Language Proficient (ELP) standards for ELL students • Provide intensive professional development focused on the math standards including RtI, integration of technology and access points for students with disabilities (including teachers of SWD and ELL) 10.Provide intensive professional development focused on the science standards including RtI, integration of technology and access points for students with disabilities (including teachers of SWD and ELL) • Implement and provide professional development on the new reading assessment • Provide intensive professional development in Positive Behavior Support (PBS).
Investment Strategies -Technology 13. Provide necessary technology tools and other teaching resources (including appropriate accommodations and assistive technology) for reading, math and science for all students including ELL and SWD. 14.Bring schools and districts up to readiness level in technology (student/computer ratio; adequate data connection, appropriate capacity caching and proxy servers, etc.) • To track student performance on all curriculum standards and in the accelerated programs • To collect accurate and timely formative student performance data • To access computer-based testing needs 15. Enhance the collection and reporting of data to provide accessibility and transparency for use of funds
Investment Strategies –Increase Access to Rigorous Courses 16. Increase student participation in more rigorous advanced courses International Baccalaureate, Advanced Placement, Advanced International Certificate of Education, Dual Enrollment and Industry Certification • Insure access by increasing classes and programs offered in accelerated programs • Increase online opportunities • Provide Professional Development for more teachers and counselors in those acceleration programs • Plan additional parent information efforts • Increase the availability of accelerated c0-curricular activities
Investment Strategies – Quality Educators • Provide mentoring and induction for new and struggling teachers. • Provide teachers with the professional development necessary and/or with reimbursement for courses and certification examinations upon completion to become highly-qualified • Provide incentives for Reading Endorsement, ESOL Endorsement, Content-area certification for ESE teachers
Investment Strategies -Leadership 19. Provide professional development to leadership teams that includes: monitoring instruction, lesson study, RtI, and how to schedule a school to provide embedded time for professional development and intervention. 20. Provide performance bonus pay for high-performing leadership teams and assign them to lowest-performing schools Other: 21. Other district-determined focused strategies aligned to the assurances and principles.
Three Major Components • State Fiscal Stabilization Funds • Stabilize state and local budgets in order to minimize and avoid further reductions in education. • Targeted Stimulus Funds • Title I and IDEA entitlement grants • Competitive Grants • Reform efforts and “Race to the Top” Grant Opportunities
Florida needs Waiver to Qualify for SFSF • Florida school districts experienced four reductions totaling 6.42% to the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) since the start of the 2007-08 school year. The last reduction of 2% occurred during January’s Special Legislative Session. • The cumulative impact of these reductions state-wide is $1.2 billion or $457 dollars per student. • The cumulative impact to the School District of Palm Beach County was $90.1 million or $455 dollars per student. • States must meet FY2006 maintenance of effort requirement to qualify for State Fiscal Stabilization Funds or submit waiver to Secretary of Education.
Legislature Relied Heavily on SFSF to balance FY2010 budget • Of the $2.1 billion available to Florida over the next two years, the Legislature earmarked $907.9 million for K-12 education in FY10. • The allocation for Palm Beach is $60.9 million. • State is dependent on these funds to keep per student funding at the current level. • Florida’s waiver to qualify for SFSF was recently submitted and expected to be approved in the near future.
Targeted Stimulus Funds • Targeted stimulus funds are distributed to school districts through existing formulas. Must be used in accordance with grant requirements. • Title I allocations are determined by socioeconomic status (poverty level – free & reduced lunch applications). • IDEA funding for youths with disabilities. • Targeted Stimulus 2009-10 allocations for SDPBC: • Title I, Part A $13,885,684 • IDEA, Part B $20,364,139 • Title I, Part D $281,822 • IDEA, Preschool $641,193
Jobs have been Saved and Created • New positions have been created within the parameters of the Federal Stimulus funds to support schools and build capacity: • Coaches (Reading, Math, Science) to build teacher capacity over the next two years. • Response to Intervention (RTI)/Inclusion Facilitators – must be ESE certified. Will reduce ESE student population over time. • Learning Team Facilitators (LTF) • School Monitors • District lowered school Title I threshold in order to provide resources to more schools (40% F/R). • Responsible management of resources to date, thoughtful allocation of available funds, and efficient personnel procedures will help our employees avoid job loss.
VPK/Title I Program Model • Maximize resources by using Title I funding to enrich and extend the State of Florida free 3-hour Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) program • Close achievement gaps and prepare children for success in kindergarten and later life through a free 6-hour quality early education experience • Extended VPK/Title I program will be provided in 28 classrooms across 19 school sites. • Changes the lead teacher in all VPK classrooms to a certified teacher. • Retains or moves all VPK paraprofessionals to CDA positions in existing or new classrooms
Competitive Grant Stimulus Funds • U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan has an additional $5 billion to be awarded through competitive grants. • School district’s use of current resources and stimulus funds will be reviewed as part of competitive grant award process. • Palm Beach should be well positioned to receive these additional “Race to the Top” Federal stimulus funds in the years to come.
Qualified School Construction Bonds (QSCBs) • School District may borrow up to $68.1 million at 0% interest under ARRA QSCB program. • Declining tax roll (approx. 12%) and Legislative revisions to capital outlay millage authority over the past two years has impacted District’s debt capacity. • FY09 Capital Outlay Reduced from 2.00 to 1.75 mills • FY10 Capital Outlay Reduced from 1.75 to 1.50 mills • Discretionary Millage increased 0.25 mills, local Board may choose operating or capital. • Additional .25 mills may be levied by Local Board with a super majority vote for 2 years. Contingent on voter approval beyond 2 years. • Market for QSCBs is being developed. Relatively few banks in need of a Federal tax credit at this time.
Unprecedented Accountability and Transparency • Extensive reporting requirements accompany the Federal Stimulus funds (including State Fiscal Stabilization Funds). • Funds must be utilized and reported under ARRA guiding principles (4), assurances (4), and strategies (21). • Jobs saved, created, expenditure data, and performances measures must be reported to DOE bi-monthly in a prescribed format. • Reporting on use of Stimulus funds must be transparent and available on-line.
Questions & Answers THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PALM BEACH COUNTY Mike Burke May 15, 2009