Category: Funding

MaineCare Seed Adjustments to be Made; Review Q418 Reports by October 19, 2018

The recovery of Q418 MaineCare Seed will occur in the October 2018 subsidy payment and the Maine DOE is asking districts to review their reports by October 19, 2018 to ensure accurate adjustments to subsidy.

District staff must review student by student claims on both the public and private MaineCare reports for Q418 by October 19, 2018.

To access the MaineCare Seed reports, please follow the instructions below.

  1. Log into NEO:
    • As in the past, if a new staff member needs permission to access this module, a request from the Superintendent to the Maine DOE helpdesk will be necessary. The helpdesk contact information is medms.helpdesk@maine.gov or 207-624-6896.
    • Anyone who currently has Special Education Director permissions to the Special Education module, will automatically have permissions to access MaineCare reports.
  2. Click on the Student Data tab
  3. Click on the Student Report tab
  4. Select MaineCare in the Reporting Area drop-down
  5. Choose the quarterly Seed report and the report type (private/public)
  6. Click view report button
  7. exportButton
    Export Button

    Once the report appears on the screen, choose the export button.
    You may export the reports to Excel but, please be aware that there may be multiple worksheet tabs within the workbook. Save the file to your computer.

If you disagree that a particular student or time period should be on the report, please provide the reason that you disagree along with the following to Denise Towers at Denise.towers@maine.gov.

  • Identify the type of report (public or private) and the quarter in which the claims are located.
  • State Student ID
  • Service provided dates (to and from)
  • Total amount of Seed being disputed

Summer services: Students must be enrolled for the time period they are receiving educational services. This means that students that are receiving extended school year services in district or extended school year services in an out of district placement must have a primary enrollment for that time period in order for the MDOE to have the most accurate enrollment data to determine SAU responsibility for MaineCare Seed.

For more information or technical assistance related to MaineCare Seed, please contact Denise Towers at Denise.towers@maine.gov.

 

Administrative Letter: Annual Notification of Eligibility for Schoolwide Programs that Include Students with Disabilities

Administrative Letter: #18
Policy Code:  BGE
To: District and School Administrators, Special Education Directors
From: Robert G. Hasson, Jr., Ed. D., Commissioner
Date: September 5, 2018
Subject: Annual Notification of Eligibility for Schoolwide Programs that Include Students with Disabilities

Schools that receive federal Title I funds, have poverty rates of at least 40 percent and have approved Title IA Schoolwide Plans are eligible to use their Title I funds – and funds from other sources – to develop “schoolwide programs.”

Schoolwide programs are comprehensive reform strategies aimed at raising the achievement levels of all students.

To facilitate the inclusion of students with disabilities in schoolwide programs, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the federal regulations at 34 CFR §300.206(a) allow school administrative units (SAU) to use a portion of the funds they receive under Part B of IDEA for any fiscal year to fund such schoolwide programs.

SAUs can use those funds as long as students with disabilities receive the services to which they are entitled under their Individualized Education Programs and that are guaranteed under IDEA.

The amount of Part B funds a school expends for schoolwide programs cannot exceed the amount the SAU has received for that fiscal year, divided by the number of children with disabilities in that unit, multiplied by the number of children with disabilities participating in the schoolwide program.

For more information visit Maine DOE’s ESSA Webpages or contact Maine DOE’s Title IA Data Specialist Daniel Weeks at daniel.r.weeks@maine.gov, or Director of Special Services Jan Breton at janice.breton@maine.gov.

National Board Certified Teacher Salary Supplement Request due October 15, 2018

Superintendents of a school administrative unit or the director of a publicly-supported secondary school or Career and Technical Education (CTE) region, with eligible staff who have attained National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Certification prior to July 1, 2018, must submit to the Maine Department of Education (DOE) the list of those eligible to receive the salary supplement for the 2018-19 school year by October 15, 2018.

In order to qualify for the salary supplement, eligible staff must be currently employed by a Maine public school, or by a publicly-supported secondary school or CTE region in Maine. Eligible position titles include classroom teacher, special education teacher, literacy specialist, long-term substitute teacher, library media specialist, guidance counselor, and teacher leaders with certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, or its successor organization.

The amount of the salary supplement for fiscal year 2018-19 is $3,000.00, unless proration is necessary. The submission form and further information is available at National Board Certification Salary Supplement.

If you have questions, please contact Denise Towers at Denise.towers@maine.gov by phone at 624-6863.

2018-19 Gifted and Talented SAU Program Application Forms Available

The 2018-19 Gifted and Talented SAU Program Application forms are now available. All applications are due by September 30, 2018:

Access the Forms for Annual Gifted and Talented Program Approval and other related materials.

At the link above you will find:

  • Renewal applications with instructions (for SAUs that have an already existing gifted and talented program);
  • Initial applications with instructions (for SAUs that do not have a gifted and talented program);
  • Waiver request form (for SAUs that would like a one year waiver from having a gifted and talented program); &
  • Extension request form (for SAUs that require more time to complete their renewal or initial application).

All applications must be submitted to GT.DOE@maine.gov by September 30, 2018.

If you have any questions, please contact Ida Batista at ida.batista@maine.gov or 624-6795.

Beginning of School Year Checklist for Completing Reports

The following checklist is designed to assist districts with publicly funded students in completing required reporting.  The dates listed after each report are when the report is open for entry and due for certification, if required.

Synergy

The Synergy Student Information System is now open for the 2018-2019 school year. If you are a new user or, an existing user who needs changes to system access, please complete the system access form and return to the Maine DOE Helpdesk.

Please note, the first three uploads in Synergy must be done in order (State ID – only if needed, Student Enrollment and Student Personal). Manual entry will allow all three sections to be entered at once so the order is not as critical.

The following items are available. Please visit the Maine DOE Data Resources webpage for Synergy codes to be used for the items below and detailed instructions for entry.

☐ State ID Import – Caution! Please verify the student has not already been previously enrolled in the State of Maine at any time before using this.  Duplicate student IDs create inaccurate data and are not always easy to resolve.

☐ Student Enrollment

☐ Student Personal

☐ Economic Status

☐ Special Education Services – Please remember to use the start date of the services even if this was in a previous year.  Synergy will create a new line for each year the student received the services

☐ EL if applicable

☐ CTE schools and other concurrent schools may only enter their information after the primary school has done their enrollment information.

☐ Attendance, Truancy and Behavior as often as possible but at a minimum, quarterly for certification purposes

☐ Future dates are not permitted in the system.

☐ NEO Staff updated

Beginning of Year Reports and Certifications in DC&R

The following items can be accessed from DC&R. Guidance is available on the Maine DOE Data Resources webpage.

☐ Maine Schools and School Approvals due August 1.  This report must be completed to enter staff information:

Contacts and Questions

If you have questions about these reports, (i.e. what should be entered) please contact the specialist listed below:

  • Accountability: Penny Henry 624-6855
  • Attendance: Rick Bergeron 624-6840
  • Audits/EF-S-07:  Stephanie Clark 624-6807
  • Behavior/Bullying/Restraint and Seclusion: Sarah Ricker 624-6685 or Meredith Backus 624-6865
  • Maine Schools: Charlotte Ellis 624-6696
  • School Approvals: Pam Ford-Taylor 624-6617
  • Special Education: Brandi Giguere 624-6648
  • Truancy: Gayle Erdheim 624-6637
  • Financial Reports (actual expenditure and actual revenue): Tyler Backus 624-6635
  • School Nurse Report: Meredith Backus 624-6865

If you have questions about accessing the reports, please call or email the helpdesk. 624-6896 or medms.helpdesk@maine.gov

If you do not have credentials for Synergy or NEO – Access forms for Synergy and NEO if needed are located on the Maine DOE Data Resources webpage  These forms must be signed by Superintendent and returned to medms.helpdesk@maine.gov.

 

Annual Audit Requirements

Initial Report to the Commissioner Due November 1st:

Pursuant to Title 20-A MRSA 6051 §4, statements of assurance and Maine Education Financial System reconciliations are due to the Department by November 1, 2018. Please submit via email to DOE.audit@maine.gov . Any adjustments identified by these reconciliations should be uploaded to the Maine Education Financial System in NEO by November 30, 2018.

Annual Audit Reports Due December 30th:

  • Annual audit reports are due within six months after the end of the audit period (e.g., reports for the fiscal year ending June 30th are due on or before December 30th).
    • Per statute, it is the school board’s responsibility to submit the annual audit document unless it is included in the engagement letter that the audit firm will submit the audit to the Department on behalf of the school board.
  • Per statute, the auditor is required to review the audit with the school board.
    • Municipal school units are required to submit either a combined annual audit or a school department audit and a municipal audit to the Department. The municipal annual report (a.k.a. town report) cannot be accepted in lieu of the complete municipal annual audit.
  • Per statute, Maine DOE must receive a SEFA (Schedule of Expenditure of Federal Awards), which includes federal award expenditures for all reporting entities, regardless if a Single Audit (formerly A-133 audit) is not required to be conducted. The SEFA provides information needed by Maine DOE to conduct sub-recipient monitoring as required by US DOE and is due at the time of the annual audit.
    • In municipal school units where a combined audit is not conducted, Maine DOE is to receive two audits: an audit with a SEFA for the school department and a city/town including a SEFA.

 

  • If a management letter is prepared by the auditor, a copy must be submitted to MDOE with the annual audit as this letter provides MDOE with information needed to conduct sub-recipient monitoring as required by US DOE.
  • Please submit all annual audit documents, reports, information requests, questions and other audit correspondence via email to DOE.Audit@Maine.gov or via the direct link provided on the Fiscal Review and Compliance webpage.

Extensions and Subsidy Payments

It is the Superintendent’s responsibility to request audit deadline extensions and/or exceptions, regardless if the request is for the municipal audit and/or school department audit. The forms are available on the Fiscal Review and Compliance webpage.

  • Extensions will expire no less than 30 days from the date the extension was submitted.
  • Extension requests will be considered until June 30th (six months after due date); extensions will not be valid after June 30th and all municipalities and school administrative units with overdue audits that have not submitted an extension request before May 30th will be place on the hold subsidy list and subsidy will be withheld in July.
  • Submitting the required documents will be the only way to be removed from the Hold Subsidy List.

For more information, review statutory requirements in Title 20-A MRSA 6051 §4 or email to DOE.Audit@Maine.gov.

Understanding Maine DOE Data: A Workshop for School and District Leaders

WhyDataMatters-003.pngAre you a school or district leader that wonders why the Department collects certain data sets and what they are used for? Get the answer to this question and more by attending a workshops led by Paula Gravelle of School Finance and Charlotte Ellis of the Data Team. These are targeted sessions for school and district leaders, they will be about data use and policy, not data entry.

Topics Covered:

  • How does the State calculation work for funding public education (PreK-12)?
  • What data is important for the Essential Programs and Service (EPS)?
  • What data is important for Accountability?
  • What are the deadlines for submitting data?
  • Should I certify even if the data is wrong?
  • How does my data effect other districts?
  • What if I have an error in my data, can it be corrected?
  • What type of student data impacts the subsidy calculation?
  • Why do I have to do certifications?

Workshop Sessions Details:

  • August 7, Caribou High School 9:30-11:30 AM
  • August 8, Ellsworth Elementary/Middle School 9:30-11:30 AM
  • August 9, Brewer High School 9:30-11:30 AM
  • August 20, Cony High School (Augusta) 9:30-11:30 AM
  • August 21, Mt. Ararat Middle School (Topsham) 9:30-11:30 AM
  • August 22, Mt. Blue High School (Farmington) 9:30-11:30 AM
  • August 23, Gorham High School 9:30-11:30 AM

Please join Maine DOE School Finance Consultant, Paula Gravelle and Data Manager, Charlotte Ellis to understand why data matters.

Register for one of the workshops here: Workshop Registration Link

2018-19 Enacted ED279 Subsidy Printouts Now Available

FY 2018-2019 ED 279 subsidy printouts are now available on the Maine Department of Education website:

View the FY 2018-2019 ED 279 subsidy printouts

These printouts are based on Public Law 2017 Chapter 446. Reflected changes include:

  • The mill expectation decreased from 8.51 mills to 8.48 mills.
  • Additional funds were allocated for those Career and Technical Education (CTE) organizations which are underspending the EPS Model for CTE.

Guidance regarding CTE Funds: CTE funds are now targeted and may only be used to support approved CTE programming.  Should any CTE funds allocated remain unspent at the end of the fiscal year, those funds must be carried forward for exclusive support of CTE programming in future years.

Districts that have questions regarding subsidy printouts can contact the School Finance Team: Tyler Backus at tyler.backus@maine.gov, Paula Gravelle at paula.b.gravelle@maine.gov, or Ida Batista at ida.batista@maine.gov.

ESEA Federal Fund Manual Extension Changes

The Maine Department of Education’s ESEA Federal Programs Team is providing an update regarding the requesting of manual extensions for ESEA Federal funds.

The ESEA Federal Programs will continue to grant manual extensions to school administrative units (SAUs) that were unable to expend their ESEA Federal carryover funds within the expected two-year time frame however, manual extension requests for FY17 funds will only be accepted until August 15, 2018. Requests submitted August 16, 2018 and beyond will not be reviewed or approved.

All requests for manual extensions should go to the district’s ESEA regional team member. Manual extension requests require all funds to be obligated by September 30, 2018 and liquidated by October 30, 2018.

With the understanding that it is not always possible to plan expenditures of ESEA Federal Funds within the fiscal year the funds are granted. In the event that funds are not expended, the ESEA allows for SAUs to carry funds over into the following year. The provision for a manual extension should be the last option in order to expand funds carried over from prior years.

Your continual support as a responsible steward of ESEA Federal Funds is greatly appreciated. If you have questions regarding manual extensions, please contact your ESEA regional team member.

 

Updates on the RFP for the Fund for the Efficient Delivery of Educational Services (FEDES)

Last week the State of Maine issued RFP#201806118, which offers a grant funding opportunity through the Fund for the Efficient Delivery of Educational Services (FEDES). An amendment to the RFP was posted on the State of Maine Division of Procurement Services website that includes additional requirements regarding applicant eligibility for subsequent grants under FEDES in accordance with Maine DOE Rule Chapter 122, Section 6, 2.

As a reminder, the Department will sponsor an online/telephone Information Session for the RFP on July 19, 2018 at 10:00 AM:

Proposals must be submitted to the State of Maine Division of Procurement Services, via e-mail, to the following email address: Proposals@maine.gov. Proposal submissions must be submitted no later than 4:00 pm, local time, on November 7, 2018, when they will be opened. Proposals will be opened at the Burton M. Cross Office Building, 111 Sewall Street – 4th Floor, Augusta, Maine. Proposals not submitted to the Division of Procurement Services’ email address by the deadline will not be considered for the grant award.

All questions, answers, and a summary from the Information Session will be available on the State of Maine Division of Procurement Services website under RFP# 201806118 following the Information Session.