COMMONWEALTH
OF VIRGINIA
DEPARTMENT
OF EDUCATION
P. O.
BOX 2120
RICHMOND,
VIRGINIA 23218-2120
SUPTS. MEMO. NO. 2
March 29, 2002
|
TO: |
Division Superintendents |
|
FROM: |
Jo Lynne DeMary Superintendent of Public Instruction |
|
SUBJECT: |
Fiscal Year 2002 Certification of
Adequate Budgeted Funds to Meet the Required Local Effort for the Standards
of Quality Due:
April 26, 2002 |
Section 22.1-94, Code of Virginia, requires local
governing bodies to appropriate funds for school divisions that are sufficient
to maintain an educational program that meets the Standards of Quality
(SOQ). Section 22.1-97, Code of Virginia, sets forth the procedure that the
Department of Education must follow if a county, city, or town fails to
appropriate sufficient local funding to support the Standards of Quality. Attachment A to this memorandum provides the
complete language for the referenced Code sections. This memorandum incorporates the significant changes affecting
required local effort based on the fiscal year 2002 budget adopted by the
General Assembly on March 9, 2002.
In
order to ensure that sufficient local funds have been appropriated for fiscal
year 2002 to maintain the SOQ, each school division must complete and return a
Required Local Effort Certification form to the Department of Education. For fiscal year 2002, this form is provided
as part of an Excel template. Please
complete and return the Excel template and the signed certification to the
department no later than April 26, 2002.
The template is located on the departments website and can be
downloaded from the following address:
http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/Finance/Budget/cdc/index.html
The Excel template combines the Required Local Effort
Certification form with a spreadsheet that allows you to calculate your
divisions required local effort for SOQ programs (defined as Basic Aid, Gifted
Education, Vocational Education-SOQ, Special Education-SOQ, Remedial Education,
Fringe Benefits, and Textbooks) for fiscal year 2002.
The template consists of two spreadsheets (three
spreadsheets for the five jointly-operated school divisions). The State & Local Funds Worksheet"
assists you in calculating your divisions required local effort for the SOQ
programs. School divisions are required
to calculate required local effort based on actual March 31, 2002, average
daily membership (ADM) (as reported to the department through Superintendents
Administrative Memorandum No. 14, dated March 22, 2002). The Required Local Effort worksheet
requires you to enter data regarding your divisions planned expenditures for
education programs for fiscal year 2002 and determines whether sufficient local
funds have been appropriated to maintain required local effort for the SOQ.
Please note where local appropriations reported on the
Required Local Effort worksheet are less than the required local effort for
the SOQ, the division superintendent is required to certify that additional
appropriation will be requested from the local governing body in an amount
sufficient to meet required local effort.
Documentation of any supplemental local appropriation made by the local
governing body should be furnished to the department.
The department has revised the expenditure items to be
excluded on the required local effort worksheet. Beginning with the fiscal year 2002 required local effort
certification, operational expenditures in the Facilities function (66000)
will no longer be excluded from total expenditures. Therefore, only Capital Outlay (object 8200) across all
functions and Debt Service expenditures should be excluded from total
expenditures to calculate the total amount of operating expenditures in support
of required local effort.
Attachment B to this memorandum provides detailed
instructions for accessing the template through the departments website,
using the template to calculate your required local expenditures for the
mandatory SOQ programs, and submitting the signed certification form and final
Excel file to the department. Please
complete the Excel template and e-mail it to the department at (mailto: k12budget@mail.vak12ed.edu). A hardcopy of the certification form, signed
by the division superintendent, must be sent to: Virginia Department of Education, Attention: Budget Office, P.O. Box 2120, Richmond,
Virginia 23218-2120. Both submissions
are due no later than April 26, 2002.
If you have questions regarding the Excel template or the
instructions, please contact budget office staff at (804) 225-2025.
JLD/bkl
Attachments