Superintendents
Co-op Directors

Regulatory Authority:
A.C.A. §§ 6-5-301, 6-20-601, 6-20-2301, 6-20-2501 (all et seq.); Acts 229, 272, 273, 989, 1052, and 1573 of 2007

Phone Number:
501-682-4486

E-mail:
Vivian.roberts@arkansas.gov

The legal citation for the Regulatory Authority of this memo is as follows: Ark. Code Ann. §§ 6-5-301 et seq., 6-20-601 et seq., 6-20-2301 et seq., and 6-20-2501 et seq., and Acts 229, 272, 273, 989, 1052, and 1573 of the Regular Session of 2007.

The first state aid notice for fiscal year 2008-2009 has been completed and will be posted after July 31, 2008, to the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) web site: http://www.arkansased.org/.

To view a district’s state aid notice, from the drop-down menu located under Quick Links, select School Finance Reports. From the list of school finance reports, under State Aid Notices, select State Aid Notice 2008-09 - PDF July 31, 2008. Then, select Edit and Find. Type the name of the school district in the Find box, and click Find Next or Enter. To print a copy of the selected state aid notice, select File, Print, and then Current Page under the Print Range section. Then, click OK.

For each listed funding category, the following information is provided on the state aid notice: indication of the existence of an ADE Rule; the estimated amount of state aid; the applicable statutory code; indication of the existence of expenditure restrictions; the Revenue Code; and the Source of Fund Code. The DATA section of the state aid notice provides most of the data supporting the funding calculations. The FUNDING section of the state aid notice provides preliminary funding estimates. Changes to data are likely and will result in changes to the 2008-2009 estimated funding. Updates or corrections to data will change all associated funding categories. Districts will be notified of any changes on subsequent state aid notices.

• The average of the Miscellaneous Funds collected in the previous five years to be used in the calculation of 2008-2009 funding is not yet available. The former reporting cycle of April 1 through March 31 has changed to a fiscal year reporting cycle pursuant to rule and law. To calculate a foundation funding estimate pending receipt of actual miscellaneous funds data, the miscellaneous funds data for 2007-2008 funding has been used.
• Prior year three-quarter Average Daily Membership (ADM) is subject to review.
• The portion of State Foundation Funding Aid that is Educational Excellence Trust Funds (EETF) is preliminary at this time. An increase in the revenue forecast for EETF is expected and should be reflected on the mid-year state aid notice.
• Alternative Learning Environment Funding is based on prior year full-time equivalent (FTE) data and is subject to review.
• National School Lunch Act (NSLA) Funding is based on October 1, 2007 enrollment data. The effect of NSLA transition is included.
• The calculated amount of Declining Enrollment Funding is provided on the state aid notice. However, isolated special needs funding and student growth funding have not yet been calculated. Pursuant to state law, a district cannot receive both declining enrollment funding (with the exception of adequacy funding of isolated special needs and declining enrollment) and either student growth or isolated special needs. A district that is eligible to receive both declining enrollment and student growth or declining enrollment and isolated special needs, will receive the category that yields the most funding.

Sufficient data is not currently available for the calculation of English Language Learners (ELL), Isolated (Regular, Special Needs, Special Needs Adequacy and Transportation), Declining Enrollment Adequacy, Student Growth, and 98% of URT less Actual URT Collections funding categories. As data becomes available, the associated funding amounts will be reflected on the next state aid notice.

Arkansas Department of Education Rules pertaining to state aid may be found at http://www.arkansased.org/. From the drop-down menu located under Rules, select Current Rules, and then select the specific rule as follows: Calculation of Miscellaneous Funds - PDF Sept. 10, 2007; Closing Isolated Schools - PDF July 2005; Education Excellence Trust Funds - PDF 6/10/1996; Funding of Public School Districts - PDF September 2007; Limited English Proficiency Funding - PDF April 2000; Professional Development - PDF July 11, 2005; Special Needs Funding and the Determination of Allowable Expenditures of Those Funds - PDF Nov. 13, 2006. The Arkansas Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation Rule Governing the Retirement and Termination of Bonded Debt Assistance, General Facilities Funding and Supplemental Millage Incentive Funding dated November 2005 is posted on the following web site: http://www.arkansasfacilities.com.

Please review the state aid notice carefully. A comparison of the most recent state aid notice to prior state aid notices may prove helpful in detecting errors and variances. Questions may be directed to Vivian Roberts at 501/682-4486.