Newly Operational Charter Schools, FY 2015-16

September 16, 2015

Dear County Superintendents of Schools, Chief Business Officials, and Directors of Newly Operational Charter Schools:

SPECIAL APPORTIONMENT FOR NEWLY OPERATIONAL
CHARTER SCHOOLS, FISCAL YEAR 2015–16

This special apportionment, in the amount of $40,494,207, is made in accordance with California Education Code (EC) Section 47652 for fiscal year 2015–16. The purpose of this advance apportionment (Advance) is to fund charter schools that are newly operational this fall.

This Advance is for the months of July 2015 through November 2015, and equals 37 percent of the charter school’s estimated funding for the 2015–16 fiscal year. This Advance is calculated pursuant to EC sections 42238.02 and 42238.03, as well as Chapter 6 of Part 26.8 of the EC.

Entitlements Calculations

The entitlement calculations for new charter schools are based on the estimated average daily attendance (ADA), enrollment, unduplicated pupil counts, and district(s) of charter school physical location reported in the Pupil Estimates for New and Significantly Expanding Charter Schools (PENSEC) data collection.

In accordance with the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) statutes, each charter school’s LCFF Transition funding is based on the lesser of the charter school’s estimated 2015–16 Target or Floor entitlement. If funded on the Floor, the charter school’s entitlement includes Gap funding equal to approximately 50 percent of the estimated LCFF Need (difference between the LCFF Target and Floor). 

A new charter school’s Floor entitlement is determined based on the 2014–15 Floor and Gap funding rate per ADA of the school district in which the charter school is physically located. In addition, the unduplicated pupil percentage (UPP) used for concentration funding included in the LCFF Target entitlement is capped at the lesser of the charter school’s own estimated UPP or the UPP of the district in which the charter school is physically located. If the charter school has more than one physical location, the location with the highest 2014–15 funding rate per ADA and district UPP is used.

The methodology used to estimate the 2015–16 Target and 2015–16 Gap funding is consistent with the methodology used to calculate the regular 2015–16 Advance Principal Apportionment. For more information on the 2015–16 Advance Principal Apportionment calculations, refer to the letter on the California Department of Education’s (CDE) Principal Apportionment, Fiscal Year 2015–16 web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/pa/advappt1516ltr.asp. For more information on the LCFF, refer to the CDE’s Local Control Funding Formula web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/lc/.

Education Protection Account

The state aid calculated in this apportionment is reduced by $200 per unit of estimated ADA to reflect the 2015–16 Education Protection Account (EPA) revenues as established by Proposition 30, The Schools and Local Public Safety Protection Act of 2012. The CDE will allocate EPA revenues on a quarterly basis, meaning local educational agencies (LEA) will receive separate quarterly payments equal to 25 percent of their annual EPA entitlement (for new charter schools this means quarterly payments of $50 for each unit of funded ADA). The first payment will be made in September 2015. Note that future payments may be adjusted for ADA changes and previous over-or under-payments of EPA funds. More information on the EPA is available on the CDE’s Education Protection Account web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/pa/epa.asp.

Funding In-Lieu of Property Taxes

Also included in this special apportionment is funding to sponsoring school districts to backfill their transfer to charter schools of funding in-lieu of property taxes, for the months of August 2015 through November 2015, which equals 28 percent of the charter school’s projected total in-lieu of property taxes funding for the 2015–16 fiscal year. For most charter schools, EC Section 47632 defines the sponsoring LEA as the district that granted the charter, or in the case of a charter that was denied by a district and subsequently approved by a county office, the district that initially denied the charter.

For a county office of education approved charter school whose students do not meet the criteria in EC Section 2574(c)(4), or for a countywide charter whose students reside in a district that was basic aid in the prior year, the sponsoring LEA is the district of residence for those pupils. That means some county-approved charter schools may have multiple sponsoring districts if the school has students who reside in different districts. For a charter that was denied by an LEA and subsequently approved by the State Board of Education, the sponsoring LEA is the LEA that initially denied the charter or the LEA designated by the State Board of Education pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (k) of EC Section 47605.

Method for Receipt of State Aid

Pursuant to EC Section 47651, for charter schools that elect to receive funding directly, the warrant is drawn in favor of the superintendent of schools of the county in which the LEA that approved the charter is located, for deposit to the appropriate funds or accounts of the charter school in the county treasury. For all other charter schools, the funds are deposited in the appropriate funds or accounts of the LEA that approved the charter.

What’s Next

Apportionments for new charter schools for the months of December 2015 and January 2016 will be revised based on the actual first twenty (20) school days of attendance as reported by the charter school; the payment for December and January should occur in late December. The actual ADA counts for the December payment are reported to the CDE no later than five business days immediately following the 20th school day. The CDE will provide notification for this attendance reporting process within the next few weeks.

The amount apportioned to each participating charter school and charter school sponsoring LEA is available on the CDE’s website under Special Apportionments for Charter Schools on the CDE’s Principal Apportionment, Fiscal Year 2015–16 web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/pa/pa1516.asp. Additional information about charter schools is available on that same web page.

All communication related to the Principal Apportionment and LCFF funding is available on the CDE’s website, and funding specific information is sent electronically via the CDE’s PASE listserv. The listserv provides LEAs and other interested parties important information, such as notifications regarding LCFF updates, software releases, key deadlines, reminders of due dates for submission of data, and any other pertinent topics related to the Office of Principal Apportionment and Special Education (PASE) and the Office of Charter Apportionments and District Reorganization. If you do not already belong to the PASE listserv and would like to subscribe, send a "blank" message to: join-pase-contacts@mlist.cde.ca.gov.

If you have any questions regarding this apportionment or about funding for charter schools, please contact the Office of Charter Apportionments and District Reorganization by phone at 916-324-4541 or by e-mail at PASE@cde.ca.gov.

Sincerely,

Caryn Moore, Associate Director
School Fiscal Services Division

CM:mc
Enclosure