May 17, 2010
Subject: 2008–2009 Final Summary of Finances
TO THE ADMINISTRATOR ADDRESSED:
A final Summary of Finances (SOF) and other related reports for the 2008–2009 school year are now posted to the School Finance website of the Texas Education Agency (TEA) at http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/school.finance/funding/sofweb7.html. A summary of relevant information about the data used in these reports is provided in the following paragraphs:
- Student Attendance Data – The SOF reflects the final student attendance data submitted by districts through the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) in July for the 2008–2009 school year. Any changes to average daily attendance (ADA) and full-time equivalent (FTE) student count data submitted and processed since the "near final" SOF are reflected on this update. This SOF reflects, if applicable, special education FTEs generated by last summer's Extended Year Services (EYS) program. The SOF also reflects Public Education Grant (PEG) ADA and nonpublic residential contract FTEs.
- ADA Decline Adjustment – Section 42.005 of the Texas Education Code provides school districts that experience declines in ADA from one year to the next with an adjustment to their current-year ADA. The ADA of a district may be adjusted to reflect up to 98 percent of the district’s prior-year ADA, depending on the availability of funding. The 2007 General Appropriations Act provided $11 million for the purpose of ADA adjustments in districts with declining enrollments. This level of funding will allow districts with declining enrollments to be funded at 97.186 percent of the ADA they had in
2007–2008. A report entitled Adjusted ADA Detail Report provides the details of this calculation.
- New Instructional Facility Allotment (NIFA) – A final determination of the NIFA amount has been made for the 2008–2009 school year. The final amount is based on information about the number of days of instruction in each new campus submitted by the applicant and a final, actual count of ADA at each eligible campus obtained from the PEIMS for each applicable six-week period.
- Total Tax Collections – The SOF uses audited tax collections as reported by your district's independent auditor in Schedule J-1 of your district's independent audit report for the 2009 fiscal year. If your district received an Instructional Facilities Allotment (IFA) for a lease-purchase agreement, your district's local share of the IFA has been subtracted from the M&O tax collection amount before the calculation of state aid. If your district participates in a tax increment reinvestment zone (TIRZ), your district's reported payments of M&O tax collections to the TIRZ have been subtracted from your district's M&O tax collections as well.
- Transportation Allotment – Your district's 2008–2009 transportation allotment is based on the data submitted on the 2008–2009 Route Services Report. If your district did not submit this report, the transportation allotment has been removed from the SOF.
- High School Allotment – Your district's high school allotment was calculated by multiplying your district's high school (grades 9–12) ADA by $275. Your district's allotment has been updated with high school ADA from the July 2009 PEIMS submission. This allotment is part of your district's Foundation School Program (FSP) funds, and it makes up a part of each FSP payment.
- Teacher Salary Allotment – Your district's teacher salary allotment was calculated by multiplying the district's number of eligible teachers, librarians, nurses, and counselors by $2,500 or $1,250, depending on their full-time or part-time status. The allotment was updated with 2008–2009 monthly counts submitted via the web-based FSP System Staff Salary Subsystem.
- Staff Salary Allotment – Your district's staff salary allotment is calculated by multiplying the district's number of eligible staff by $500 or $250, depending on their full-time or part-time status. The allotment was updated with 2008–2009 monthly counts submitted via the web-based FSP System Staff Salary Subsystem.
- State Aid Reduction for WADA Sold – The SOF report reflects reductions in state funding for the attendance credits sold by a partner district to a Chapter 41 district. The adjustments were made by reducing state aid based on the number of credits for students in weighted average daily attendance (WADA) involved in the partnership arrangement. The number of WADA being sold does not reflect the "final" WADA that the Chapter 41 district must purchase. The number of WADA bought/sold may need to be adjusted depending on the "final" Cost of Recapture reports now available online to Chapter 41 districts. Revisions for WADA sold must be completed by June 2010.
The last section of the SOF, labeled "FSP Allocations and Adjustments," shows the amount of your district's "final" settle-up. If your district has been underpaid, the amount owed the district will be paid in May 2010. If your district has been overpaid, recovery of the amount overpaid will start in June 2010 and will be made by reducing your district's remaining FSP 2009–2010 payments. Your district's 2009–2010 FSP Payment Ledger is also available for review on the School Finance website.
Please note that we are redesigning our website. The web address will change with the conversion. You will need to update the bookmarks in your web browser. We will provide the address of the new School Finance home page on the existing home page as soon as the new address is available.
If you have any questions about your district's SOF or your district's state funding, please contact a consultant in the State Funding Division at (512) 463-9238.
Sincerely,
Helen Daniels
Director, State Funding
