Federal Funds Flowing Through Oklahoma

Federal Funds Flowing Through Oklahoma

By Kathy Dunn, CCOSA Director of Professional Learning for State and Federal Programs

The federal Consolidated Application is an annual requirement for school districts participating in Title I, II, III, IV, and V funding. Typically, the applications are due no later than September 30 of each year, but many districts complete the applications earlier so their districts may begin claiming reimbursements for expenditures made beginning on July 1, the start of the new fiscal year. One expenditure that cannot be put off until later in the school year is the salary of any employee paid with these federal project funds.

The FY24 school year brought particular fiscal challenges for many Oklahoma school districts. Four months into the new fiscal year, these districts had not yet received final approval on their federal applications, and no claims had been paid back for reimbursement of expenditures originally paid out of the district’s general fund account. Of additional concern is the “shelf life” of the ESSER III funds, which are set to expire on September 30, 2024. The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Title Services offered guidance that districts could submit a claim if they had an application with preapproval status, but many districts felt it was too great a risk to spend federal budgets until they had final approval of projects because the Office of Title Services at the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) was inconsistent on what expenses were allowable for approval. The months were ticking by in the fiscal year with no ability for districts to move forward with their ESSER projects due to be completed by September 30, 2024.

The graphics at right from the United States Department of Education ESSER Transparency Portal illustrate how the Oklahoma ESSER III expenditures and claims slowed dramatically in the FY24 fiscal year.

SPENT THROUGH MAY 31, 2023

52.2% spent

$1,494,647,051

$780,570,755 of ARP Act funds spent

SPENT THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30, 2023

62.9% spent

$1,494,647,051

$939,904,735 of ARP Act funds spent

Funds available for obligation through Sept. 30, 2024.

SPENT THROUGH NOVEMBER 30, 2023

64.0% spent

$1,494,647,051

$955,952,252 of ARP Act funds spent

Funds available for obligation through Sept. 30, 2024.

From the beginning of the FY24 school year, approval of federal applications from the OSDE was a slowmoving process. Many superintendents reached out to the OSDE regarding their federal applications, claims, and reimbursements without resolution, then turned to CCOSA and to their individual legislators seeking advocates for the fiscal well-being of their schools. In mid-November, legislators asked CCOSA to conduct a survey of members to help them determine how widespread the issue was among school districts across Oklahoma. The survey was sent to all school districts and received responses from 184 superintendents by the deadline of November 22, 2023.

Of the 184 school districts responding to the survey, 55% were still waiting in November for any of their federal applications to be approved, and 72% were waiting for their first claims of the year to be approved for reimbursement of funds that were spent between

July 1 and mid-November. In smaller districts in particular, where revenue and fund balances are limited, 33% of superintendents reported the possibility of having to issue nonpayable warrants to meet their payroll obligations if federal programs claims continued to be stalled and unpaid.

At the time of the November survey, legislators requested a follow-up survey to be done in January to determine if their efforts to communicate with the OSDE were successful and federal funds were flowing back to districts in a timely manner. The follow-up survey was completed January 15-22, 2024, by 175 Oklahoma superintendents, and it shows a concerted effort by the OSDE to get reimbursement of federal funds flowing back to districts. The two survey items that showed the greatest improvement are in the tables below.

Districts With Final Approval on Federal Applications

November 2023

January 2024

Districts With at Least One Claim Paid

November 2023

» With the reimbursement of federal funds beginning to flow back to districts, Oklahoma students can continue to benefit from the last round of COVID relief funds and the ongoing Title program funds to boost student outcomes.

January 2024

Dr. Pam Deering, Executive Director of CCOSA and OASA, recently expressed it best:

“As lifelong educators, we continue to encourage Supt. Walters and leaders at all levels to move beyond politics and prioritize public education with impactful investments and other support for Oklahoma students to succeed. Working together in a collaborative manner keeps the focus on meeting the needs of Oklahoma’s students and the wonderful public school educators who serve our students and families.” ■