SUPTS. MEMO. NO. 85
April 28, 2000 |
TO: | Division Superintendents |
FROM: | JoLynne DeMary Acting Superintendent of Public Instruction |
SUBJECT: | SOL Training Initiative Information |
The purpose of this memorandum is to (a) provide school divisions with additional information concerning SOL Training Initiative funding that was reported in Regulatory SUPTS. MEMO NO. 1, March 17, 2000, and (b) remind you of evaluation responsibilities. The 2000 General Assembly amended Item 138.C.6 of the 1999 Appropriation Act as follows to allow carry-over of unexpended second-year (FY1999-2000) SOL Training Initiative funds to FY2000-2001. …Any funds provided to school divisions in the second year for the Teacher Training Standards of Learning program that are unexpended as of June 30, 2000, shall be carried on the books of the locality to be appropriated to the school division in the following year for the same purpose. For your information, we have enclosed a spreadsheet that identifies the total amount of training funds each school division received prior to March 31, 2000. The final payment amount, which takes into consideration March 31 average daily membership, is also listed. We are pleased that Governor Gilmore's request to fund the SOL Training Initiative for the 2000-2002 biennium was approved by the 2000 General Assembly. This appropriation includes $16,906,814 the first year and $17,063,967 the second year from the general fund. The funding for this program is based on full state funding of $15 per pupil in the first year and $15 per pupil in the second year in average daily membership, adjusted for half-day kindergarten programs. The Department of Education will issue a superintendent's memo by May 19 announcing procedures for requesting the 2000-2002 SOL Training Initiative funds. The legislation requires school divisions to submit local plans for Department of Education approval. We encourage school divisions to start planning for next year's training initiative. The plans will be due to the Department of Education by August 1, 2000. Finally, we would like to alert you that the 1999-2000 post-training evaluation surveys are being mailed to your SOL evaluation contact person this month. The surveys are being sent from Virginia Commonwealth University, the Department of Education's contractor for the evaluation. Please encourage your staff to complete and return the surveys to the VCU evaluators. As you know, a school division's participation in the SOL Training Initiative evaluation is a condition of funding. If you have any questions about the SOL Training Initiative, please contact Dr. Patricia Wright, director of secondary instruction, at 804-225-2880. If you have questions about the evaluation surveys, please contact the VCU evaluators at (804) 827-0469. JLD/PIW/eh Enclosure