EPA Payment Letter, FY 17-18 Q2

Dear County Superintendents of Schools:

SECOND QUARTERLY APPORTIONMENT FOR THE
EDUCATION PROTECTION ACCOUNT
FISCAL YEAR 2017–18

This apportionment, in the amount of $1,623,287,660, is made from the Education Protection Account (EPA) in accordance with Section 36 of Article XIII of the Constitution of the State of California. This apportionment is made for the support of county offices of education, school districts, and charter schools as directed by law.

With the implementation of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) in fiscal year 2013–14, EPA entitlements will continue to be calculated based on adjusted revenue limits, including the allowance for necessary small schools, and charter school block grant funding, in accordance with Section 36 of Article XIII of the Constitution of the State of California. These funding amounts continue as components of the LCFF. The California Department of Education (CDE) will allocate EPA revenues on a quarterly basis through the 2030–31 fiscal year. Charter schools newly operational in the 2013–14 fiscal year and after receive the EPA minimum funding level of $200 per unit of average daily attendance (ADA).

Using a 2017–18 EPA revenue estimate of approximately $6.5 billion, the CDE calculated estimated EPA entitlements using a factor of 23.9320784074 percent based on the 2016–17 Second Principal Apportionment (P-2) statewide total of revenue limits and charter school block grant funding and 2016–17 P-2 local revenue data, adjusted to exclude one-time Redevelopment Agency Asset Liquidation funds reported as part of each county office of education’s and school district’s 2016–17 P-2 property taxes. If a local educational agency’s (LEA) 2016–17 P-2 EPA entitlement was based on the minimum funding of $200 per unit of ADA, the 2017–18 estimated EPA entitlement was not recalculated for this apportionment. Each LEA’s EPA entitlement was reduced so that funding from local property taxes and the EPA combined did not exceed the LEA’s adjusted revenue limit or charter school general purpose funding, provided that each LEA received the minimum EPA funding at a rate of $200 per ADA. For most LEAs, EPA funding offsets LCFF state aid allocated through the Principal Apportionment. An LEA’s 2017–18 EPA entitlement will be recalculated at the 2017–18 First Principal (P-1) Apportionment and will be based on P-1 data.

This quarterly apportionment equals 50 percent of each LEA’s 2017–18 estimated EPA entitlement (for new charter schools this means quarterly payments of $100 for each unit of funded ADA) less any amounts apportioned in September 2017. Future payments may be adjusted for ADA changes, local property taxes, and previous over- or under- payments of EPA funds.

The State Controller’s Office estimates that payments for this apportionment will be issued to county treasurers on December 22, 2017, and school districts and charter schools should be advised immediately of this apportionment. For standardized account code structure (SACS) coding, use Resource 1400, Education Protection Account, and Revenue Object 8012, Education Protection Account Entitlement.

An LEA’s governing board is required to make spending determinations for EPA funds at an open public meeting and post on the LEA’s Web site an accounting of how much money was received from the EPA and how that money was spent. For additional information on EPA calculations, letters of apportionment, payment schedules, spending restrictions, frequently asked questions, SACS financial reporting and more, please refer to CDE’s EPA Web page at http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/pa/epa.asp.

If you have questions regarding the EPA entitlement calculation, please contact the Principal Apportionment Section by phone at 916-324-4541 or by email at PASE@cde.ca.gov. For questions related to SACS financial reporting, please contact the Office of Financial Accountability and Information Services by phone at
916-322-1770 or by email at sacsinfo@cde.ca.gov.

Sincerely,

Caryn Moore, Director
School Fiscal Services Division