RTTT Year 3 Annual Proposed Budget Submission


Accessing the Online Budget Submission System

  • Log on to the New York State Education Department’s (NYSED) Business Applications portal at: http://portal.nysed.gov
  • Select “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Reporting System”
  • Scroll to the bottom of the page, click on tab “ Applications, Budgets, Amendments and Finals”
  • Select “Race to the Top (RTTT) Online Budget 2012-13” from the drop down menu
  • Click the “Continue” button 

General Guidance

  • If your LEA budgeted funds for Year 2 and has not yet submitted your Final Expenditure Report for the period July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012 (Year 2), you must do so and have it approved by the Department before you can enter your Year 3 budget information. You can access the online Year 2 Final Expenditure Report from the ARRA Reporting System on the NYSED Business Applications portal at: http://portal.nysed.gov.
  • The proposed RTTT Year 3 budget should cover anticipated expenditures for the period July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2013. 
  • The four-year Activity Level Budgets participating LEAs originally submitted (along with the Scopes of Work in Fall 2010) do not need to be updated or resubmitted unless the conditions described in the Scope of Work section below are met.
  • While there is no annual cap for 2012-13 as there was for the previous year, the Department strongly encourages participating LEAs to develop their Year 3 budgets based on your four-year RTTT reform goals and performance targets (from your approved Scope of Work), reserving funds as needed to support activities during Year 4.
  • Once a LEA’s Year 3 proposed budget has been submitted, approved, and entered into the Department’s financial payment system, a grant award notice will be generated and sent. LEAs may then begin to submit requests for the reimbursement of expenditures, consistent with the approved budget, that the LEA has incurred dating from July 1, 2012.

RTTT Scope of Work (SOW) and Conditions Requiring an Amended SOW

  • The proposed budgets should align with the activities contained in your currently approved RTTT Scope of Work. Copies of all participating LEAs’ Scope of Work documents can be found at: http://eservices.nysed.gov/rtttlea/search.html.
  • Amended Scope of Work: the State Education Department will require participating LEAs to amend their currently approved Scopes of Work only if one or more of the following conditions exist.  The LEA decides to:
    • Undertake a new activity not currently included in its approved Scope of Work;
    • Discontinue or not start an activity currently included in its approved Scope of Work; and/or
    • Delay implementation of an approved activity for a period of time such that the start date of the activity shifts into the succeeding school year. 
  • If an amended Scope of Work is required based on the conditions above, please submit it prior to submitting your Year 3 proposed budget. Doing otherwise may result in a delay in the Department approving the Year 3 proposed budget.
  • LEAs can access their final approved Scope of Work at: http://eservices.nysed.gov/rtttlea/search.html. The only document that needs to be resubmitted is the “Final Scope of Work – Student Outcomes and Work Plan.”  LEAs do not to resubmit the “Four Year Activity Level Budget” that was originally sent with their application.  The process for submitting a revised “Student Outcomes and Work Plan” is similar to the process for submitting the initial Scope of Work. The original guidance documents for completing the “Student Outcomes and Work Plan” template can be found on the Department’s website at: http://usny.nysed.gov/rttt/scopeofwork/.

Teacher Principal Evaluation Activities (Section D: Great Teachers and Leaders)

  • Because LEA activities under Section D of the State’s RTTT plan (Great Teachers and Leaders) are tied to implementation of the new evaluation law, NYSED requires that at least 25% of the four-year LEA allocation be spent for this purpose.  Participating school districts must have an approved Teacher and Principal APPR plan that demonstrates that their collective bargaining agreements comply with the provisions of Education Law §3012-c and Commissioner’s regulations before the Section D apportionment will be available.

    If a public charter school’s teachers and/or principals are not represented by a collective bargaining agent, the charter school must certify that it has established a teacher and principal evaluation system that is consistent with the three elements of Education Law §3012-c described below before the Section D apportionment will be available:
    1. is based on multiple measures of effectiveness, including 40% student achievement measures, which would result in a single composite effectiveness score for every teacher and principal;
    2. differentiates effectiveness for teachers and principals using the following four rating categories: Highly Effective, Effective, Developing, and Ineffective; and use such annual evaluations as a significant factor for employment decisions including promotion, retention, supplemental compensation, and professional development; and
    3. provides for the development and implementation of improvement plans for teachers or principals rated Developing or Ineffective.
  • A charter school can submit the appropriate certification at any time during the school year whenever it meets the certification standards above.  The form and instructions for completing the certification(s) can be found at: http://usny.nysed.gov/rttt/scopeofwork/.  Once filed, if a charter school wants to revise its Year 3 budget to access its Section D apportionment, it may do so.
  • If your LEA does not have an approved APPR plan (or an approved certification for a charter school) by the State Education Department, you can still file a Year 3 budget.  However, the LEA will not be able to budget a dollar amount (other than $0) for Section D-related activities. 

Budget Amendments

  • If your LEA needs to make changes to an approved online budget, you can do so by logging into the NYSED Business Applications portal at: http://portal.nysed.gov and then selecting the amendment application from the drop-down menu of available applications. Please note that we will not accept  paper FS-10-A forms for Race to the Top – all amendments must be submitted online.
Last Updated: November 8, 2012