COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
P.O. BOX 2120
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA 23218-2120
SUPTS. MEMO NO. 52
September 12, 2003
ADMINISTRATIVE
|
TO: |
Division
Superintendents |
|
FROM: |
Jo Lynne
DeMary Superintendent
of Public Instruction |
|
SUBJECT: |
Certifications for Certain State Funds in Fiscal Year 2004 Due: October 10, 2003 |
Chapter
1042 (2002-2004 appropriation act) requires school divisions to submit
certifications for certain incentive-based accounts before the Department of
Education can release the state funding.
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide you with the certification
forms for several of these accounts.
For fiscal year 2004, an Excel template will be used to facilitate the
collection of the required certifications.
The Excel template can be downloaded from the departments website at
the following address:
http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/Finance/Budget/cdc/index.html
Attachment
A to this memorandum provides instructions for accessing the Excel file from
the departments website.
This
memorandum addresses the certification requirements for the following accounts:
1.
School
Construction Grants Program Funds Fiscal year 2003 funds carried over at the
local level and fiscal year 2004 funds may be used for school construction,
additions, renovations, infrastructure, site acquisition, technology, other
expenditures related to modernizing classroom equipment, school safety
equipment or school safety renovations, and payments to escrow accounts
pursuant to Chapter 391, 1999 Acts of Assembly (Section 22.1-175.5, Code of
Virginia). School Construction
Grants Program funds may also be used for debt service on projects completed
within the previous 10 years (since fiscal year 1994 inclusive). This 10-year limit, back to fiscal year
1994, applies to all sources of state school construction funds expended in
fiscal year 2004, including those funds spent from the School Construction
Escrow Fund, regardless of the fiscal year the funds were originally provided
by the state.
The School Construction Grants Program certification sheet requests information on actual expenditures for fiscal year 2003 and estimated expenditures for fiscal year 2004. The certification sheet also requests information regarding the treatment of School Construction Grants Program funds by the local governing body. Fifty percent of School Construction Grants Program funds will be distributed in December 2003, pending receipt and approval of the required certification form. The remaining 50 percent of funds will be distributed in May 2004.
2.
Lottery Funds
- Signing this form certifies that the division will maintain a certain level
of total local operating expenditures (details are on the certification form)
and that state lottery funds will be appropriated only for uses permitted and
specified in the appropriation act. In
addition, a local match based on the composite index of local ability-to-pay is
required to receive the state funds.
After the Department of Education receives and approves this
certification, lottery funds will be distributed on a semi-monthly basis.
3.
At-Risk
Signing this form certifies that the state and local shares of the At-Risk
payment for fiscal year 2004 will be used to support approved programs for
students who are educationally at-risk.
A local match based on the composite index of local ability-to-pay is
required to receive the state funds. Payments
for this account in fiscal year 2004 will be made semi-monthly
beginning on the July 16, 2003, electronic funds transfer (EFT); however,
divisions are required to submit the certification form to the Department of
Education by October 10, 2003.
4.
Standards of
Learning (SOL) Remediation Signing this form certifies that a remediation
program will be offered in fiscal year 2004 to students who need
remediation based on their performance on the SOL assessments or who need
remediation in order to pass the SOL assessments. Signing this certification is required to receive state funds
under the SOL Remediation program in fiscal year 2004. A
local match based on the composite index of local ability-to-pay is required to
receive the state funds. These
entitlements will be paid in two equal payments in November 2003, after the
department receives and approves the required certifications, and in March
2004, after the department updates the payments for actual 2003 fall
membership.
5.
Standards of
Learning Algebra Readiness Signing this form certifies that an intervention
program will be offered in fiscal year 2004 to students who are identified
through the state-provided Algebra Readiness Diagnostic Test (ARDT) as needing
additional instruction and that students who receive intervention services will
be assessed again at the end of the 2003-2004 school year as a condition of
receiving state funds under this program in fiscal year 2004. You will also certify on this form that
state funds you received for this program in fiscal year 2003 that were unspent
at the end of the fiscal year were carried over to fiscal year 2004 and that
they will be used only for the SOL Algebra Readiness program in fiscal year
2004. A local match based on the
composite index of local ability-to-pay is required to receive the state
funds. These entitlements will be paid
in two equal payments in November 2003, after the department receives and
approves the required certifications, and in March 2004, after the department
updates the payments for actual 2003 fall membership.
If you plan to use a locally developed
or selected test instead of using the state-provided test, you must complete
this certification and check the box indicating that you plan to use a locally
developed or selected test. You must
also submit a second certification form to obtain approval from the department
to use a different test. This
certification form can be obtained from the departments Forms Web page
(under the Instruction section) at the following address:
http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/Forms/
6.
Compensation
Supplement You must certify, no later than March 1, 2004, that an average
salary increase equivalent to at least the value of a 2.25 percent increase
effective January 1, 2004, will be granted to classroom teachers in fiscal year
2004. Upon receipt of the
certification, payments will be made in semi-monthly installments, beginning on
the December 16, 2003 EFT. In the event
the certification form is received after December 16, 2003, payments will begin
approximately one month after receipt.
A local match based on the composite index of local ability-to-pay is
required to receive the state funds.
Please
note that forms for all other accounts requiring certification for fiscal year
2004 will be communicated through separate superintendents memoranda. These include:
K-3 Primary
Class Size Reduction The fiscal year 2004 certification will be sent to
school divisions as part of the 2003 fall membership data collection. All data needed to calculate these payments
will come from the 2003 fall membership report. No other data collections will be required.
Early Reading
Intervention Informational Superintendents Memorandum No. 77, dated May 2,
2003, included instructions for participating in this program in fiscal year
2004. This certification was due to the
department by May 30, 2003.
At-Risk
Four-Year-Olds (Virginia Preschool Initiative) Informational Superintendents
Memorandum No. 73, dated April 25, 2003, included the application package and
required certifications for fiscal year 2004.
The application was due to the department by May 16, 2003.
Student
Achievement Grants - Administrative Superintendents Memorandum No. 49, dated
August 29, 2003, included the certification form for participation in this new
program in fiscal year 2004.
All
certifications contained in the attached Excel template (except for the
Compensation Supplement) must be signed by the division superintendent and
returned to the budget office by October 10, 2003, if you wish to participate
in these optional programs in fiscal year 2004. While we hope that you will return the Compensation Supplement
certification statement by October 10, 2003, the appropriation act does permit
school divisions to have until March 1, 2004, to submit this certification and
still receive the state funds.
Please
mail the signed certifications to:
Virginia Department of Education
Attn: Budget Office
P.O. Box 2120
Richmond, Virginia 23218-2120
Please also e-mail
the completed Excel template to K12Budget@mail.vak12ed.edu. If you have any questions concerning this
certification process, please contact budget office staff at (804) 225-2025.
JLD/mmv
Attachment