From the State Department

IDAHO SCHOOLS COULD RECEIVE $51 MILLION THROUGH FEDERAL JOBS BILL

Idaho is estimated to receive $51 million in federal funding from the $10 billion Education Jobs Fund that Congress approved and the President signed into law this week. According to the legislation, the funding must be spent on salaries and benefits for employees at the school building level. The funding cannot be spent on district-level administration, higher education, or rainy day funds.

The U.S. Department of Education is scheduled to release official guidance for the Education Jobs Fund on Friday, August 13, 2010. States will have until September 9, 2010 to submit applications for the funding. The U.S. Department of Education has said it will work to approve state applications within two weeks of receiving them. In the coming days, the State Department of Education and the Office of the Governor will be working closely with the U.S. Department of Education to nail down estimates for how much each local education agency (LEA) will receive and to ensure Idaho meets the maintenance of effort requirements.

Here are a few answers to some of the frequently asked questions we have received from school districts across Idaho.

How long will districts have to spend the money? The Tydings Amendment will apply to the Education Jobs Fund, giving LEAs up to 27 months to spend these federal funds. States must distribute the funds to LEAs in the 2010-2011 school year. LEAs will have the authority to spend the funds over 27 months. The intent is for the funds to be used to restore jobs in the 2010-2011 school year. Therefore, it will be up to each local school district or public charter school if they want to reserve funds for FY12.

What are the reporting requirements? The Jobs Bill will have the same reporting requirements as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF), such as reporting the number of jobs created and jobs saved.

What are the allowable uses for the funds? Here is how the U.S. Department of Education described the allowable uses for the funding.

The money CAN be used for school-level personnel. Examples include:
Principals
Assistant principals
Teachers
Paraprofessionals
Bus drivers
Foodservice personnel
Counselors
School nurses
Librarians
The money CANNOT be used for:
School district-level administrative costs or personnel
Higher education
Rainy day funds
If an employee wears multiple hats, working partially at the district level and partially at the school level, the LEA will be allowed to pro-rate the money for that individual. Funding from the Jobs Bill will not cover contract employees. It only covers employees of local school districts who work at the school level.

Can the funding be used to restore furlough days? Yes. On the conference call, officials from the U.S. Department of Education said funds can be used to “eliminate furlough days and pay decreases” for personnel at the school level. In the legislation, it specifically states that funding “may be used only for compensation and benefits and other expenses, such as support services, necessary to retain existing employees, to recall or rehire former employees, and to hire new employees, in order to provide early childhood, elementary, or secondary educational and related services.” This will only apply to school-level personnel.

Please note: The official guidance has not been released yet. Once we have the official guidance on Friday, August 13, we will be better able to answer your questions on how this money will be distributed to local school districts and how it can be used.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to e-mail them to me directly at mrmcgrath@sde.idaho.gov. We will be working with the U.S Department of Education in the coming days to get all of our questions answered.