New Grade Level Expansion Letter, FY 2015-16

September 16, 2015

Dear County Superintendents of Schools, Chief Business Officials, and Directors of New Grade Level Expansion Charter Schools:

SPECIAL APPORTIONMENT FOR CHARTER SCHOOLS
NEW GRADE LEVEL EXPANSION, FISCAL YEAR 2015–16

This special apportionment of $23,161,936 is made in accordance with the California Education Code (EC) Section 47652(b) for fiscal year 2015–16. The purpose of this advance apportionment (Advance) is to fund charter schools that are adding at least one new grade level this fall.

This Advance is for the months of July 2015 through November 2015, and equals 37 percent of the charter school’s estimated increase in funding attributable to the new grade level for the 2015–16 fiscal year. This Advance is calculated pursuant to EC sections 42338.02 and 42238.03, as well as Chapter 6 of Part 26.8 of the EC.

Entitlements Calculations

The entitlement calculations for charter schools that are adding at least one new grade level are based on the estimated average daily attendance (ADA) reported in the Pupil Estimates for New and Significantly Expanding Charter Schools (PENSEC) data collection. 

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 http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/pa/advappt1516ltr.asp. For more information on the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), refer to the CDE’s LCFF Web page at http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/lc/.

Funding In-Lieu of Property Taxes

Also included in the 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 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 local educational agency (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 Receiving State Aid

Pursuant to EC Section 47651, for charter schools that elect to receive funding directly, the warrant will be 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 shall be deposited in the appropriate funds or accounts of the LEA that granted the charter.

What’s Next

Apportionments for charter schools that are adding at least one new grade level for the months of December 2015 and January 2016 will be revised based on the actual first twenty (20) school days of attendance for the new grade levels, 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 must be 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 Web site under Special Apportionments for Charter Schools at http://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 will be available on the CDE’s Web site, and funding specific information will also be 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