The Future for Rural The Future for Rural SchoolsSchools

Mary KuslerAssistant Director, Government Relations

American Association of School Administrators

June 30, 2007

Rewriting the Rural Rewriting the Rural Education Education

Achievement Achievement ProgramProgram

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Rural Education Rural Education Achievement Program Achievement Program

(REAP)(REAP)• Part one, the Small and Rural Schools

Achievement Program, is targeted to provide additional funding and flexibility to small rural school districts.

• Part two, the Rural and Low-income Schools program, provides additional funding for poor rural school districts.

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Who is Eligible for the Small & Who is Eligible for the Small & Rural Schools Achievement Rural Schools Achievement

Program?Program?• Eligible districts have an

ADA of 600 or fewer or the county in which the district resides has fewer than 10 people per square mile.

• AND• Defined as rural by the US

Department of Education. Rural for USED means having a local code of 7 or 8.

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Who is Eligible for the Rural Who is Eligible for the Rural and Low-Income School and Low-Income School

Program?Program?

• Eligible districts have a census poverty count of 20% or more.

• AND

• Have US Department of Education Locale code of 6, 7 or 8. Locale code 6 translates to a small town.

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What is a Johnson Locale Code?

• Currently….• This Census coding system is based on both the

proximity to metropolitan areas and on population size and density.

• Codes are assigned based on the addresses of the individual schools and are assigned at the school level.

• Ranges from 1 (urban) to 8 (rural)

• Imperfect measure for rural schools.

•www.nces.ed.gov/ccdweb/school/

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What are the New Locale Codes?

• Based on a school’s proximity to an urbanized area.

• Broken down into city, suburban, town and rural

• If 50% of the district is within one locale code, that is how the district is coded.

• If no single locale code accounts for 50% of the students, then the category with the greatest % of students determines the locale.

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New Locale Codes• 31 - Town, Fringe:

– Territory inside an urban cluster that is less than or equal to 10 miles from an urbanized area.

• 32 - Town, Distant:– Territory inside an urban cluster that is more than 10 miles and less than or equal to 35

miles from an urbanized area. • 33 - Town, Remote:

– Territory inside an urban cluster that is more than 35 miles from an urbanized area. • 41 - Rural, Fringe:

– Census-defined rural territory that is less than or equal to 5 miles from an urbanized area, as well as rural territory that is less than or equal to 2.5 miles from an urban cluster.

• 42 - Rural, Distant:– Census-defined rural territory that is more than 5 miles but less than or equal to 25

miles from an urbanized area, as well as rural territory that is more than 2.5 miles but less than or equal to 10 miles from an urban cluster.

• 43 - Rural, Remote:– Census-defined rural territory that is more than 25 miles from an urbanized area and is

also more than 10 miles from an urban cluster.

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States Participating in Rural States Participating in Rural Education Achievement Education Achievement

ProgramProgram

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How Does Subpart One How Does Subpart One Work?Work?

• Can co-mingle funds from Titles II (Teacher & Technology), IV (Safe & Drug Free) and V (Innovative Block Grant)

• Can spend them in Titles I, II, III (Bilingual and Emergency Immigrant), IV (added 21st Century Grant) or V.

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How does the formula How does the formula work?work?

• Provides a supplemental grant with a min. of $20,000 to max. of $60,000.

• Formula $20,000 for first 50 students plus $100 for each additional student up to $60,000.

• Subtract allocations in Titles II (Teacher & Technology), IV (Safe & Drug Free) and V (Innovative Block Grant)

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A Formula ExampleA Formula Example

• Mar Lee School District, MI– ADA 289 students

• $20,000 (50) + $23,900 (239) = $43,900• Title II, Part A (Teacher): $13,715• Title II, Part D (Ed Tech): $385• Title IV (S&DF): $1,196• Title V (In Blk Gnt): $64

– Total federal formula funds: $15,360

• $43,900 - $15,360 = $28,540 new funds!

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The formula problem – FY The formula problem – FY 20032003

• Sheridan County School District #3, WY– ADA 103 students

• $20,000 (50) + $5,300 (53) = $25,300• Title II, Part A (Teacher): $12,723• Title II, Part D (Ed Tech): $1,480• Title IV (S&DF): $1,862• Title V (In Blk Gnt): $3,105

– Total federal formula funds: $19,170

• $25,300 - $19,170 = $6,130 grant

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The formula problem – FY The formula problem – FY 20052005

• Sheridan County School District #3, WY– ADA 100 students

• $20,000 (50) + $5,300 (50) = $25,000• Title II, Part A (Teacher): $128,144• Title II, Part D (Ed Tech): $11,349• Title IV (S&DF): $1,862• Title V (In Blk Gnt): $6,700

– Total federal formula funds: $148,055

• $25,000 - $148,055 = -$123,055 over max. grant

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With Money, Comes With Money, Comes AccountabilityAccountability

• After receiving the SRSA for 3 years, districts are expected to meet adequate yearly progress (AYP.)

• If the district does not meet AYP, they will still receive REAP funding but it must be used for school improvement purposes.

• DoE will not give $$ to districts who consistently do not meet AYP.

• Applicable to upcoming funding year.

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Rural & Low-income School Rural & Low-income School ProgramProgram

• Program was developed by states that have county-wide districts that include rural areas, but also benefits larger rural districts.

• Program is administered and dollars flow through the state. State distributes the funding to the eligible districts.

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State choices for distributionState choices for distribution

• On a competitive basis

• According to a formula based on the number of students

• According to a formula that more highly targets the dollars to needy districts– Pre-approved by US Dept. of Ed

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Uses for new funding…Uses for new funding…

• Teacher recruitment/ retention

• Teacher professional development

• Educational technology (software too!)

• Parental involvement activities

• Safe and Drug Free Schools

• Title I, Part A

• Bilingual and Emergency Immigrant (Title III)

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Funding for REAPFunding for REAP

• REAP is currently funded at $168.9 million.

• It has been level funded for several years.

• As title formula dollars are going down, the need for REAP dollars increases.

• We need to push for more funding.

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Reauthorization of REAPReauthorization of REAP• Some changes need to be made

to improve REAP in the coming reauthorization.

• Specifically, a number of districts are no longer receiving a financial benefit from the program despite qualifying.– Allow districts to choose which program

to apply under.– Raise the sliding scale from $20,000 -

$60,000 to $25,000 - $70,000.

• For the Rural & Low-income program, use free and reduced lunch instead of census.

• Update Locale codes.

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REAP for the 2007 – 2008 School REAP for the 2007 – 2008 School YearYear

• Eligibility spreadsheets are up on the US Department of Education website: http://www.ed.gov/programs/reapsrsa/index.html– If you have received REAP in the past and

are eligible again this year you do not have to reapply.

• Rural and Low-income program will continue to work through the state.

• We need to push for increased funding for REAP!

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Be sure to share your Be sure to share your ideas…ideas…

Mary KuslerAsst. Director of Government Relations

American Association of School AdministratorsAmerican Association of School Administrators801 N. Quincy Street, Suite 700

Arlington, VA 22203(703) 875- 0733

mkusler@aasa.org