As of Friday, Heartland still has not received its funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). We also have some other small details being discovered and interpreted from the last legislature so there may be additional tweaks to this document. You can find funding information that we do know about for 2008-09 budget year and 2009-10 budget year by clicking here.
We also have an estimate of our ARRA funds for 2009-2011. Click here for the funding chart. This chart also could change as we learn more about the funds. Please note that these funds are for two years. A couple other facts that need to be recognized is that the Department of Education is receiving no stimulus funds and the AEAs are not receiving stabilization funds.
There will be a couple of other grants that we may pursue including Race to the Top and Innovation Funds. They are not included in these documents.
Below are a few questions and answers that may result from reading these documents. If you have other questions, please send them to that Heartland Communications Department at comms@aea11.k12.ia.us.
What do the different fund designations mean?
Part B funds refer to special education monies.
Part 619 funds refer to Preschool (3-5 year olds).
Part C funds refer to Birth to 3.
Why are we funding an Iowa Core Curriculum Statewide Coordinator?
As we noted above, the Department of Education is receiving no stimulus funds. The Department worked with the AEA system to make this position available. The AEAs had major input in the job description as well as the interviewing process. The system will have oversight as well. This line item denotes Heartland’s portion of that position for two years.
What are contingency funds?
They are funds being reserved to help cover anything that crops up. There are still plenty of projects that are being discussed with the state, the AEA system and the LEAs that may require additional ARRA funds that we are not aware of or there may be projects that prove more costly than anticipated.
Why do the Des Moines Public Schools receive part of our funds?
We have a separate contract with Des Moines. The amount of money that goes to Des Moines is based on a specific formula.
What is maintenance of effort (MOE)?
It is a requirement contained in our legislation, regulations or administrative policies that Heartland must maintain a specified level of financial effort in the area for which federal funds will be provided in order to receive federal grant funds. It also can be used for general education needs. We are allowed up to 50% of the monies we receive to go against our level of financial effort.
What is the Part B deficit from?
It comes from hiring staff to provide services to our special needs students. This includes staff salaries and benefits. The projection is $825,000 for this year. We will use $400,000 of the ARRA funds to reduce that hole. This will help us soften the landing for the anticipated funding cliff in the future when these funds go away.
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