Updates: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)

April 10, 2009 Update:

Memo to the Field, from Johanna Duncan-Poitier, Senior Deputy Commissioner of Education - P-16, on "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)"

SENIOR DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION – P-16
Office of Elementary, Middle, Secondary and Continuing Education
Office of Higher Education
To:



 District Superintendents of Schools
Superintendents of Schools
Administrators of Charter Schools
Chief Executive Officers of Institutions of Higher Education
Directors of Public Libraries and Public Library Systems
From: Johanna Duncan-Poitier
Date: April 10, 2009
Subject: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)

The following is the most up-to-date information available on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).  I realize this information will be reaching many of you while you are away on a well deserved school break, however, as promised, we are continuing to provide information as soon as it is available.

Update on 2009-10 State Aid to School Districts and State Fiscal Stabilization Funds (SFSF)

The Office of State Aid has posted State Fiscal Stabilization Funds (SFSF) reports for school districts on the Web at: http://stateaid.nysed.gov/. For each eligible school district, the Deficit Reduction Assessment Restoration, which was computed consistent with Section 24 of Part A of Chapter 57 of the Laws of 2009, is represented in this report.  We expect that ARRA funds allocated to New York State will be available to school districts on or after September 1, 2009. These Federal funds will be paid separately and therefore, will be excluded from the total amount payable under the General Aid 3609-a payment schedule.

It is important to note that SFSF expenditures must be accounted for in the General Fund, but identified and tracked separately. There are a number of federally-mandated reporting requirements associated with these funds which include quarterly reporting of the number of jobs saved, programs delivered, equipment and materials purchased and the tax increases averted.

Additional information will be provided to school districts and posted on the Department’s ARRA Web site at http://usny.nysed.gov/arra/ regarding reporting requirements for the use of State Fiscal Stabilization Funds.  Questions about the State Aid formulas may be directed to the State Aid Unit at (518) 474-2977.

April 6th Webcast, Frequently Asked Questions, and New Federal Guidance

I want to thank all of you who joined us for our Webcast on Monday, April 6 on State funding for education and the ARRA.  The Webcast was watched live by over 2,900 viewers. For those of you who were not able to join us on Monday, an archive of the presentation is now available online at  http://usny.nysed.gov/arra/.  I also want to thank those of you who submitted questions both during and in advance of the Webcast.  In response to the hundreds of questions we have received:

  1. We are developing a set of Frequently Asked Questions and Answers (FAQ) that will be available on our ARRA Web site. 
  2. We recommend that you review the extensive guidance that has been offered by the United States Education Department (USED).  On Monday, USED released "Clarifying Instructions Regarding Use of FY 2009 Prior-Enacted Levels of State Support" and on Tuesday issued "Modifications to Questions in the April 2009 Guidance on the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund Program." Both of these documents may be found at http://www.ed.gov/programs/statestabilization/applicant.html.  Our dedicated ARRA Website - http://usny.nysed.gov/arra/ - will also provide you with direct links to federal guidance. We encourage you to visit the USED web site - http://www.ed.gov/recovery - on a regular basis as it is being continually updated. 

Your Comments are Welcome on Proposed Metrics for Reporting Requirements

We are now reviewing metrics proposed by the USED to implement the ARRA reporting requirements.  We would like to invite you to review the proposed metrics and to submit your comments.  Please review the following documents and provide any comments by April 24, 2009 to emscmgts@mail.nysed.gov:

Thank you for your continued commitment to the effective implementation of ARRA.  We will continue to provide you with timely updates on ARRA and will be hosting additional Webcasts in the future.

cc: New York State Board of Regents
     Commissioner Richard P. Mills

Last Updated: February 6, 2014