March 2, 2010 Online Session
ARRA School Based Expenditure Reporting
Questions and Answers
See website for additional guidance on School Based Expenditure Reporting: http://usny.nysed.gov/arra/reporting/home.html
1. Who is required to report?
A. School districts that received ARRA Title I Part A funds in 2009-10 are required to provide school based expenditures for all schools (not only their Title I schools) for the 2008-09 school year. This requirement does not apply to districts that received ONLY 2009-10 ARRA Title I Part D funds. The 2008-09 school year was selected as it was thought that districts would have data readily available for this year. Of the 697 districts in New York State, 541 districts are subject to this reporting requirement. A list can be found on the ARRA website at: http://usny.nysed.gov/arra/reporting/districts.html Charter schools are not required to report.
2. How do I access the online reporting system and when is it due?
A. Districts can access the reporting system through the ARRA Reporting System application on the SED Business Portal at http://portal.nysed.gov. Districts must submit their reports by March 15, 2010.
3. What expenditures must districts report?
A. Districts must report all personnel expenditures at the school building level that are funded with State and local funds. This reporting excludes the following:
• All federally-funded personnel expenditures;
• All special education program expenditures, including Section 4408 summer school programs; and
• Any pre-kindergarten or adult education expenditures.
4. Which staff salaries must be included in the reporting? All staff or just instructional staff?
A. School districts should report both instructional and non-instructional salaries by building. Building principals and their support staff are included, as are teachers, teaching assistants, aides, and related positions. District-wide salaries, such as central administrative staff, are not included unless a district-wide employee is doing work in a specific building, in which case only the portion of the salary “assigned “ to that school building should be included. Additional information on district-wide expenditures can be found on our website: http://usny.nysed.gov/arra/reporting/home.html. The account codes provided in the online form reflect the specific expenditures that should be reported. Only staff costs reported in these account codes should be included.
5. Should expenses related to staff benefits be included?
A. No. The reporting is focused on direct personnel salaries and does not include benefits, nor retirement payments, etc. It does include stipends, overtime or extra salary payments, however.
6. Why are Special Aid Fund federal account codes provided if districts aren’t to report on any federal funds?
A. Special Aid Fund codes can also apply to State-funded projects, such as special legislative grants. An example of a Special Aid Fund expense might be a State legislative project allocated to a particular school.
7. Should the reporting match what is submitted on the ST-3?
A. Not necessarily. The federally-required information for this reporting project is not necessarily as comprehensive as what is reported on the ST-3 and is building-specific, rather than at the district level. We are using account codes from the ST-3 to assist districts in gathering and reporting the correct information. The expenditures reported should be in the same account codes as reported on the ST-3.
8. What if all grades are in one building?
A. Expenditure reporting is at the building level, so districts with a single K-12 building should report their expenditures as such. Expenditures related to district administration, however, should still not be reported in this case. If, however, the superintendent also serves as the building principal, then any portion of his/her salary which is accounted for in a building supervision code (i.e. A2020 or F2020) should be reported for that particular building.
9. Are BOCES expenses included?
A. No. BOCES expenses are not included for this purpose.
10. Should substitutes be included?
A. Yes. Substitutes are to be included if they are used for positions identified at the building level in the account codes provided. Districts should maintain documentation which substantiates any method used for building distribution, both for substitutes and all other areas of expense.