BOCES SAMS UPDATE STATE AID SYSTEM

1. BOCES SAMS UPDATE STATE AID SYSTEM PRESENTATION TO THE BOCES STATE AID OFFICE/ SAMS PROJECT TEAM NYS EDUCATION DEPARTMENT AUGUST 26, 2008

2. DATA SUBMISSION

3. DATA SUBMISSION • All data to be transmitted in one or more XML files generated from & by their own or vendor software system • All data revisions will be resubmissions of the XML file(s) • Revisions submitted will go into a SAMS “revision area,” to be reviewed by SED before being accepted into the “official” data area

4. DATA SUBMISSION (cont.) • XML Revision files can be transmitted at any time, except when SED review of your data is “in progress” • No limit to number of times XML revision files can be submitted

5. DATA SUBMISSION (cont.) • Manual data entry capability will be available only in emergency technical situations, upon request to SED • Use of manual entry restricted to reduce risk of BOCES internal systems, XML files and SAMS dataset being “out of sync”

6. DATA SUBMISSION (cont.) • SED will provide Document Type Definition (DTD) for generation of XML files

7. AGGREGATION LEVEL • ALL SERVICE AND ADMIN DATA EXCEPT DIRECT EXPENSES WILL BE COLLECTED AT THE PSN LEVEL

8. DATA VALIDATION • Validation checks will prevent invalid data items from entering SAMS • E.g. financial data for a COSER not approved by Office of Education Management Services • E.g. data fields that are formatted incorrectly

9. DATA VALIDATION (cont.) • SAMS will notify user of data errors identified by validation checks • Validation checks will ensure that only valid account codes & properly formatted data are imported, while edit reports will evaluate content for trend anomalies and logical consistency

10. VIEWING LOADED DATA • Data imported successfully can be viewed immediately at various levels of aggregation, for BOCES and components, via various reports • Viewing these reports will help users identify data problems

11. VIEWING LOADED DATA • Except in 1st year of deployment, 3 years of data will appear in data displays wherever possible; e.g., for 2009-10 Aid claim: 2007-08, 2008-09 actual, 2009-10 projected

12. THE EDIT PROCESS • After importing data BOCES must run the edit report(s) • Data should either be revised (upload new data) or comments provided • Edit report must be marked as “Ready” before DS can certify the data submission

13. THE EDIT PROCESS (cont.) • Only DS can certify the SAMS state aid claim • Certification includes attestation to accuracy and completeness of data, etc.

14. THE EDIT PROCESS (cont.) • After Certification (data submission) SED will review each edit report and either “Clean” each data set or “Reject” after entering comments which the BOCES will be able to view. • BOCES must address the issues in each edit report and submit changes or comments back to SED

15. DATA COLLECTION ITEMS

16. GENERAL APPROACH • Collect same data as we collect now, except at the COSER level, not major COSER group • Collect new data in some areas; e.g. all SA-111 Sch.4 revenues, cross-contracted unapproved services • Leave option open to make changes later

17. GENERAL APPROACH (cont.) • Use data analysis, claim verification, Criteria Guidelines, COSER system data & the GAAP manual to better understand the content of / variations in current reporting • Possibly make changes in the future to data items, but not overall structure

18. GENERAL APPROACH (cont.) • Example: Sch. 2. Expenses Eligible for Transportation Aid other than the 200 COSERS • Continue to collect this BOCES general deduction item by COSER • Do data analysis, statute, criteria guideline & GAAP review to determine whether SAMS can automatically calculate this deduction by summing expenses of a universe of possible, applicable activity codes

19. GENERAL APPROACH (cont.) • We acknowledge that we do not have time to incorporate such determinations into SAMS requirements now • We don’t want to chance eliminating data items that it turns out later we need for aid calculation • We don’t want to chance forcing a reporting change that unknowingly creates a large burden for BOCES

20. GENERAL APPROACH (cont.) Ultimate goal of approach: comprehensive, specific, published definition of what should/should not be included in all the deductions

21. SA-111 • BOCES SAMS project timeline & resources do not allow for full automation of the SA-111 comparable to that of district ST-3 • ST-3 automation was conversion of already fully automated DEA ST-3 • Full SA-111 not needed for BOCES Aid calculation

22. SA-111 (cont.) • Will not collect entire SA-111, only what is needed to calculate aid/verify claim • Will not program any SA-111 subtotals, totals, fund balancing calculations

23. SA-111 (cont.) • Current procedure for submitting hardcopy SA-111 to SED and OSC will not change • SA-111 data collected via SAMS will be formatted/structured so as not to preclude expansion to full SA-111 automation in the future

24. SA-111 data for BOCES aid in current SAMS project • Entire Schedule 4: all direct expenses, all revenues, all transfers • Direct expenses by activity code (only data collected @ lower level than PSN) • Several other schedules

25. PROJECTION DATA Projection data will be collected at the PSN level, except for direct expenses, which will be collected at the activity code / object code level

26. PROJECTION DATA (cont.) • Calculated projected expenses for aid will appear on output reports, but not calculations of aid or related to aid; e.g., no projected aid ratios • This makes BOCES consistent with district calculations, and avoids confusion with results of official modeled aid projections; e.g., for the executive budget

27. DATA COLLECTION EXCESS SALARIES (ES)

28. EXCESS SALARIES • Continue Sch. E, where “seller” BOCES lists ES amounts for its components, noncomponents and other BOCES • Continue Sch. X, where “buyer” enters cross-contracted ES for services purchased by its components

29. EXCESS SALARIES (cont.) Schedules E/X to be collected by PSN, not major COSER grouping

30. EXCESS SALARIES (cont.) • May require seller BOCES to break out Sch. E ES charged to other BOCES by buyer component • SAMS will require update of Sch. X by buyer BOCES, if seller BOCES alters Sch. E information for other BOCES

31. EXCESS SALARIES (cont.) • Seller BOCES will complete Sch. E for seller PSNs • Buyer BOCES will complete Sch. X using buyer PSNs • COSER system tables linking PSNs to 4-digit activity codes for each BOCES will allow for cross-BOCES ES review

32. EXCESS SALARIES: SCH 31 Will be collected via SAMS

33. SED WILL VERIFY ES DATA USING: • COSER system cross contracting info • SAMS tables linking PSNs to 4-digit activity codes for each BOCES • Sch E/X , SCH. 31

34. ES DATA VERIFICATION • Cross-BOCES reports will identify missing/inconsistent ES data • Reports will be used to notify BOCES of missing/inconsistent ES data • Verification will be via up-front edit and post-edit claim verification

35. ES DATA COLLECTION CHANGES: • SED recognizes variation across BOCES in current ES reporting methods • SED will study data received on Sch E/X & Sch.31 • Data collection items may be added/deleted/modified later

36. EXCESS SALARIES (cont.) • Projections will continue to be collected on Schedule 7 • Analysis of Sch. 31 data may result in elimination of Sch 7 later

37. DATA COLLECTION UNAPPROVED SERVICES (UAS)

38. UNAPPROVED SERVICES (UAS) • Will collect by PSN • Structure of collection will change to Excess Salary Sch. E/X type format

39. CROSS-CONTRACTED UNAPPROVED SERVICES • “Seller” BOCES will distinguish among own components, noncomponents, and other BOCES, comparable to Excess Salary Sch.E • Seller will need to provide buyers with UAS amounts for purchased services

40. CROSS-CONTRACTED UNAPPROVED SERVICES (cont.) • Buyer will need to allocate UAS amounts from other BOCES, comparable to Sch.X • SAMS will require update of buyer BOCES UAS cmp allocations, if seller BOCES alters UAS information for other BOCES

41. CROSS-CONTRACTED UNAPPROVED SERVICES (cont.) SED will use same tools as noted above to verify data, identify missing data & identify inconsistencies between seller and buyer data

42. UNAPPROVED SERVICES (cont.) SED will use data analysis, claim verification inquiries, the Criteria Guidelines, COSER system descriptions and the GAAP manual to better understand the content of / variations in current UAS reporting

43. UNAPPROVED SERVICES Possibly make changes in the future that affect file contents, but not overall structure

44. UNAPPROVED SERVICES (cont.) • Example: If the aid restriction for a COSER is a single object code, SED may pull that UAS amt. directly from the Sch.4 for that PSN • Object code for textbook purchases for Textbook Co-ordination COSER

45. ADDITIONAL MISCELLANEOUS DATA COLLECTION • Various additional data items may be added in converting from DEA to SAMS • Additional data items needed for SED analysis and reporting • Specific items will be made available by the next update, well before SAMS release

46. CLAIM VERIFICATION

47. CLAIM VERIFICATION • Office of State Aid no longer conducts full audits of every district’s claim • Up front edit of data has been greatly expanded • Risk management principles applied to post-edit claim review

48. CLAIM VERIFICATION (cont.) • Each year, some districts are selected for post-edit review in selected areas • Usually, review consists of providing backup documentation for claim data submitted • E.g., districts are asked for student listings to support Form A student with disability totals reported to State Aid

49. CLAIM VERIFICATION (cont.) • District SAMS now includes a Claim Verification module used to manage this post-edit claim review process • Similar module will be used to convert the current BOCES audit to a similar risk-based claim verification process

50. CLAIM VERIFICATION (cont.) BOCES should be prepared to provide documentation of State Aid claim from internal accounting and record-keeping systems.