JUNEAU, Alaska (KTUU) – The Senate Education Committee will hear from the Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) on how it plans to lift the U.S. Department of Education's designation of “high-risk” grant recipients. We want to be thinking.
A special hearing is scheduled for April 3.
A notice was sent to states and DEED on Wednesday advising them of non-compliance with federal requirements under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund, according to a Senate Majority Spokesperson. Ta. .
In a December letter, the U.S. Department of Education outlined a requirement for states to submit plans within 30 days to demonstrate their efforts to resolve the requirements, according to the notice. That demonstration never happened.
Federal regulations require Alaska to maintain the same level of funding for school districts to access federal recovery funds, which are strictly designed to not replace state funding. I am.
While accepting federal grants in 2021 and 2022, the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, Anchorage School District, Juneau School District and Fairbanks-Northstar Borough School District received about $29 million less in state funding.
The U.S. Department of Education is asking the state to provide a plan for allocating an additional $29 million to these four school districts.
“This federal decision is of great concern to the Senate and the state as a whole. School districts are already struggling to keep schools open, continue educational programs, and retain quality teachers,” said Senate President Gary Stevens. said in a statement. “Without planning and quick action, local schools could be left without additional federal funding, and the onus will be placed on state coffers to fill that gap.”
States now have 30 days to confirm that their spending requests have been filed. or present a plan to resolve that non-compliance. The designation of “high-risk” grant recipients would result in an additional $425 million in lost federal funds to the state.
In a statement, Senate Education Chairman Loki Tobin blamed the problem on a “lack of quality oversight and management” by the state.
“The state is seeking $29 million more while putting hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid at risk,” Tobin said. “Despite assurances from the Department and the Secretary that a solution was in the works, the state failed in its responsibilities.”
The state said in a press release that it asserted in a letter sent last week to the U.S. Department of Education that the “preservation of equity” requirements were indeed met.
“The letter adds that ED has moved the goalposts, making it difficult for states to clearly understand how ED is interpreting maintenance of capital requirements,” DEED press release It is stated in.
Full statement from DEED Commissioner Deena Bishop
“This confirms that we have always provided funding to schools in accordance with the fair share formula established by Alaska law and have also distributed COVID-19 funding under the Title 1 Part A formula in accordance with federal guidance. When you think about it, it's an incredibly surprising conclusion.
“Alaska has been praised by several outside groups for the fairness of its school funding formula. Including Rutgers University. To go back here and suggest that some of the largest school districts need to be given additional funding would be to take away their fair share and flip it on its head at the expense of small, rural districts, making it unreasonable. It doesn't make any sense. In short, the way ED requires the state of Alaska to distribute funding to maintain equity requirements is unfair to Alaska's rural schools. ”
Full statement from Karen Morrison, Director of Finance and Support Services
“It is unfortunate that the federal government failed to move this process forward and took the time to understand the information provided by the State of Alaska. It went headlong into creating expectations. Even the ED's own numbers have changed from the letter it sent in December to today, significantly reducing the amount of money allegedly being paid to certain districts. This indicates that this issue is still undecided and that ED needs to understand how school funding works in Alaska.
“We will honor the requested 10-day deadline for answers and reconsideration. We hope they will take the time to truly understand the school funding formula that has been scrutinized by the government.”
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