CCSD is required by the federal government to provide Title I funding to schools where 75 percent or more of the students qualify for Free or Reduced Lunch. Most major urban school districts allocate Title I dollars to schools that have 75 percent or more of students qualifying for Free or Reduced Lunch (FRL).
Starting with the 2019-20 school year, CCSD has decided to provide Title I funds to schools where 60 percent of students qualified for Free or Reduced Lunch as of December 2018.
- This decision will ensure Title I dollars are distributed to the schools where the students and families have the greatest need.
- This will reallocate resources to schools and communities that have been historically underserved and under resourced.
- For example, we know that schools with the highest percentages of students utilizing FRL often have the highest teacher and support staff vacancy rates in the district.
- 55 schools that had been receiving Title I funds will no longer receive Title I funds in the 2019-20 school year.
- Those schools are now working with their School Organizational Teams to revise their strategic budgets to reflect the change.
- Schools in the range between 57 percent and 59.9 percent may appeal through their School Associate Superintendent if other factors support the need for additional Title I funding. The Deputy Superintendent will make the final decision.
Ultimately, CCSD hopes the state adopts a weighted funding formula that provides extra funding for all students who require additional resources to succeed.
What about teachers on loan forgiveness programs?
- CCSD does not determine the eligibility of the schools to participate in the loan forgiveness program for teachers. That list is determined by the federal government.
- You can find more information on teacher loan forgiveness programs here or here.
- Employees pursuing loan forgiveness will continue to work externally to obtain loan forgiveness forms, which will be routed to Human Resources to verify years of service.
What happens to support professionals at the 55 schools that will no longer be Title I schools?
- CCSD’s contract with support professionals provides that they receive additional compensation if they work in a Title I school in an effort to encourage our most qualified employees to go to our schools with the most needs.
- Support professionals who are currently assigned to Title I schools that will be moving to non-Title I status will have the opportunity to remain working in a Title I school, if they would like, by selecting vacant Title I positions at the surplus reassignment meeting. Impacted support professionals at these 55 schools can also choose to remain in their assignment. However, their compensation would be adjusted.
Will schools lose other benefits that are provided to Title I schools, such as the ability to pay for students’ Advanced Placement (AP) exam fees?
- One of our top priorities is to ensure all students have access to college and career ready programs such as Advanced Placement. CCSD is working for additional grants and other programs to assist students who cannot afford exam fees.
Will the Title I money be used for the new teacher recruitment and retention program that will start in 2019-20 to ensure high-quality teachers at eight middle schools that have been designated by the state as needing improvement?
- No. Overall allocation to schools in 2018-19 school year was $64 million, and in 2019-20 will be increased $67 million. The funds for the recruitment and retention program will come from district Title I set-aside funds.
Will this affect allocations to teachers under the Professional Growth Plan (PGP)?
- No, the PGP provides additional funds for teachers in Tier 1 and Tier 2 Title I schools. This change only affected Tier 3 schools.
