Education Funding for Alberta School Authorities - William Poon, School Finance Branch September 27, 2019
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Education Funding for Alberta School Authorities William Poon, School Finance Branch September 27, 2019
Agenda
• Role of School Finance
• Funding Framework
- Grant eligibility
- Grant allocations
• Funding and Data Systems
• Other Financial Information Supports
• Risk Management and Internal Controls
• Key Contacts and Deadlines
Role of School Finance Branch • Produce the Funding Manual for School Authorities • Determine, process, and reconcile funding allocations • Manage payments and data systems • Oversee internal controls and risk management process
Key Activities and Areas of Emphasis • There will be a concerted effort to improve internal controls, accountability, and compliance with funding policy. This may be measured through the following key activities: – Desk Audit enrolment verification – Compliance with course prerequisites – Adherence to policy relating to the operation of Outreach programs – Adherence to policy for Designated Special Education Private Schools
Key Documents
Education Act
– Legislation governing education of students
– Right of access, responsibility to students, residency
Guide to Education
– Governs program delivery for students
Funding Manual for School Authorities
– Sets out conditions and details under which funding is
allocated to school authorities
Alberta’s Funding Framework 6
Budget 2019 & 2019-20 Funding Manual • Budget 2019 will be released later this fall (possibly late October). • 2019-20 Funding Manual for School Authorities will be available after the release of Budget 2019. • Funding Framework and accountability review is underway.
Education Funding Sources
• The education property tax is pooled into the Alberta School Foundation
Fund, and then distributed among Alberta's public and separate school
boards on an equal per-student basis
• The total amount of education property tax is based on 32 percent of
Education’s operating cost
• The balance of education funding is provided for through the General
Revenue Fund of the Government of Alberta
• Using two revenue streams provides stability for education funding and
ensures equitable access of quality education for all students across Alberta
Funding Framework – Three Pillars
Funding Flexibility Accountability
• Method of • Majority of • Measuring
allocating funds funding is flexible achievement and
equitably improvement
• Only a few
• Approximately 25 targeted grants • Using results to
different grants must be used for improve programs
the purpose for students
• Addresses provided
common costs as • Transparency for
well as unique • Supports local how school boards
characteristics and decision making use their financial
circumstances of resources
school authoritiesTypes of Grants
Base Instruction
• Largest component of funding
• Provided for every eligible full-time equivalent student
– ECS to Grade 9 – per student basis
– Grades 10 to 12 – based on credit enrolment units (CEUs)
Differential Funding Flexible
• Based on the unique characteristics of each authority funding
– Demographic – the types of students served
– Geographic – area of the province in which students live
– Economic – economic conditions under which students are served
• Examples: Inclusive Education, Equity of Opportunity, Transportation, English as a Second Language,
First Nations, Métis and Inuit (FNMI), Socio-Economic Status
Targeted Funding
• Provided for specific provincial initiatives
• Must be used for the initiative for which it was provided
• Examples: Regional Collaborative Service Delivery, SuperNet, School NutritionFunding Eligibility
• Most grants are per pupil driven
– September 30 enrolment
• Funding claims must be accurate and meet eligibility requirements
– Citizenship
– Residency
– Access to instruction
– Coding – ESL, Refugee, FNMI
• Funding eligibility monitored by Department
– System controls, random sampling, desk audits and on-site auditsFunding and Data Systems 12
Funding and Data Systems
• Provincial Approach to Student Information (PASI)
– Where all student data is entered (enrolments, course enrolments, and marks)
• Funding Event System (FES)
– Applies the Funding Manual rules to PASI data
– Determines funding eligibility
• School Authority Funding and Revenue System (SAFRS)
– Applies grant rates and payment schedules to FES data
– Determines funding allocations
• Program Unit Funding System (PUFS)
– Used to apply for Program Unit funding for ECS children with severe disabilitiesFunding and Data Systems
Provincial Approach to Student Information (PASI) • Jurisdictions submit student data through PASI • Accurate and timely submission is critical for funding
Funding Event System (FES)
• Applies the Funding Manual rules to PASI data to determine funding eligibility
– Age, September 30th enrolment, grant codes, exception codesFunding Event System (FES) • Provides enrolment details
Funding Event System (FES) • Provides payment details
Funding Event System (FES) • Provides enrolment details for each payment
Funding Event Changes (FES) for 2019-20
Funding Event Changes (FES) for 2019-20
• Resident Board
– Resident Boards will have the ability to see where their students are
enrolled in another school authority for DSEP (110) and Home Education
(600, 610, 612) students.
• Course conflict auto-resolve
– Within the same school jurisdiction, course conflicts between High school
redesign schools will be resolved in favor of the resident school.Program Unit Funding System (PUFS)
• Funding application for ECS children with severe special needs
Application
Due November 29
Actual Expenditures
Due November 29Outside the Funding System
• Education Service Agreements (ESAs)
– Required to receive funding for resident students attending other institutions or
schools outside their jurisdiction (i.e., out of province) School Finance approval
is required.
– Can be made between school authorities within Alberta (reciprocal agreements
where each authority would transfer the same amount to the other authority if one
of their students were to attend in the other authority). School Finance approval is
not required (as student would be funded at either authority).
– ESAs between a school authority and a First Nation Band (for First Nation
students to attend school jurisdictions) and a reciprocal agreement for students
from school jurisdictions to attend a First Nation school on reserve.Outside the Funding System • Institutional Programs – Requires application, budget and final costs • Regional Consortium Funding – Funding provided at specified rate per funding manual • Regional Collaborative Service Delivery Funding – Banker boards must provide budget or strategic plan and final costs
Secure SharePoint Site
• Purpose of the SharePoint Site is to provide a secure mechanism to
send and receive files that may have confidential information to Alberta
Education Strategic Financial Services (SFS)
• Examples include – BOSS enrolment audits, CEU monitoring,
Transportation audits/applications, School Finance enrolment audits,
Priority School and Course conflicts supporting documentation
• PUF forms are now on the School Finance Community Site
• Addresses OAG requirement for data integrity and securityAccess to SharePoint Site
SharePoint Site
Future Systems Development • A new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is currently being developed to replace IMAGIS for the Government of Alberta (GOA). • 1GX will replace IMAGIS as the primary Financial, HR, and Reporting system for the GOA. Pilot ministries will begin using the system January 1, 2020, with full implementation for all other ministries commencing on April 1, 2020. • Alberta Education will start using 1GX on April 1, 2020.
Other Financial Information Supports 29
School Jurisdiction Budget Profiles
• Funding profiles for all School Jurisdictions are posted on the Alberta
Education website https://www.alberta.ca/education-projected-
operational-funding.aspx?utm_source=redirector
• Profiles are normally updated once a year after the Provincial Budget
has been announced
• Keep in mind they are estimates only – prepared with the best
available information at the timeFunding Profiles On the Alberta Education website
Grant Calculation Sheets
• Calculation sheets posted on the Stakeholder File Exchange under
the School Finance menu
https://account.education.alberta.ca/Pas.Account/?p=FhQNMkCRoO
RwADRCRUUl1A2
– Inclusive Education
– Infrastructure Maintenance and Renewal
– Plant Operations and Maintenance
– Small Schools By Necessity
– High School Flex
• Calculation sheets are updated if a grant allocation is revisedInclusive Education On the Stakeholder File Exchange under School Finance
Infrastructure Maintenance & Renewal On the Stakeholder File Exchange under School Finance
2018/2019 Plant Operations and Maintenance (PO&M) Jurisdiction Summary
Battle Riv er Regional Div ision No. 31
Enrolment
- Regular Enrolment --- 2017/2018 Frozen Funded Head Count
- Adjusted Enrolment --- Severe PUF @ 1.5FTE, ECS @ 0.50 FTE, Online @ -1 FTE
ECS Gr. 1-6 Gr. 7-9 Gr. 10-12 Total
Regular Enrolment 435 2,860 1,294 1,397 5,986
Online Enrolment (code 620 students) 9 8 34 51
Severe Disabilities
Plant Operations ECS: Program Unit Funded (PUF)
Enrolment Verification Recovery
115
0 0 0 1
115
1
Adjusted Enrolment 333 2,851 1,286 1,362 5,832
& Maintenance Small School by Necessity Differential 107 918 414 439 1,878
Subtotal
1) Per Pupil Baseline Funding
For each grade group: (Adjusted Enrolment) x (Rate per Weighted FTE)
On the Stakeholder Rate per FTE
ECS $795.30 $ 264,437
File Exchange under Gr.1-6
Gr.7-9
Gr.10-12
$795.30
$751.18
$755.38
$
$
$
2,267,400
966,017
1,028,828
$4,526,683 73.6%
School Finance 2) Distance & Sparsity
(Per Pupil Baseline Funding) x (Distance & Sparsity Index - 1)
Per Pupil baseline Funding $4,526,683
Distance & Sparsity Index 1.020
$90,534 1.5%
3) Travel Time
Jurisdiction Travel Time Funding
Jurisdictional Travel Time Funding $72,858
$72,858 1.2%
4) Small Schools by Necessity Differential
For each grade group: (SSBN Differential Enrolment) x (Rate per Weighted FTE)
Rate per FTE
ECS $795.30 $ 85,160
Gr.1-6 $795.30 $ 730,203
Gr.7-9 $751.18 $ 311,100
Gr.10-12 $755.38 $ 331,328
$1,457,791 23.7%
5) Lease Support - in lieu of lease support funding
Lease Admin Support $0
$0 0.0%
2018/2019 Final PO&M Funding $6,147,866 100.0%Small Schools By Necessity (SSBN)
On the Stakeholder File Exchange under School Finance
Get Grade Structures 0284 The Southern Francophone Education Region No. 4 2017-2018 Allocation
Additional Calculations
Total Small # Grades in # Grades with Enrolment
Juris. School Grade Base Variable School Peak Enrolment Grade Smoothing Unadjusted
Jurisdiction Name School Name School SS SSBN SSBN Reason*** Grade FTE Funded Grade
Code Code Configuration Allocation Allocation Rate Enrolment Limit Factor Factor Rate
Allocation Configuration Enrolment Structure
284 The Southern Franc. Education Re 1269 Airdrie Francophone School K-12 $0 $0 $0 $2,944 80 290 12.5 12.5 1.00 0.00 $0 K-9 K-12
284 The Southern Franc. Education Re 1297 Ecole Beausoleil K-9 $88,281 $153,813 $242,094 YES YES No schools within 25km $1,885 80 220 9.5 9.5 1.00 13.46 $1,831 K-8 K-9
284 The Southern Franc. Education Re 9228 Ecole de la Rose Sauvage K-12 $0 $58,565 $58,565 YES YES No schools within 6km $2,944 80 290 12.5 6 0.48 14.02 $477 7-12 7-12
284 The Southern Franc. Education Re 1014 Ecole de La Source K-12 $0 $0 $0 $2,944 80 290 12.5 12.5 1.00 0.00 $0 K-9 K-12
284 The Southern Franc. Education Re 1365 École La Mosaïque K-6 $0 $0 $0 $1,650 80 150 6.5 6.5 1.00 0.00 $0 K-6 K-6
284 The Southern Franc. Education Re 2539 Ecole La Verendrye K-12 $32,525 $255,347 $287,871 YES YES No schools within 6km $2,944 80 290 12.5 12.5 1.00 14.02 $1,290 K-12 K-12
284 The Southern Franc. Education Re 1247 Ecole Le Ruisseau K-12 $88,281 $172,658 $260,939 YES YES No schools within 25km $2,944 80 290 12.5 12.5 1.00 0.00 $2,521 K-12 K-12
284 The Southern Franc. Education Re 520 Ecole Les Cypres K-12 $88,281 $223,941 $312,222 YES YES No schools within 6km $2,944 80 290 12.5 11.5 0.92 14.02 $2,881 K-12 K-11
284 The Southern Franc. Education Re 1060 Ecole Notre-Dame des Monts K-12 $41,237 $265,702 $306,939 YES YES No schools within 25km $2,944 80 290 12.5 12.5 1.00 14.02 $1,395 K-12 K-12
284 The Southern Franc. Education Re 1189 Ecole Notre-Dame des Vallees K-9 $88,281 $129,716 $217,997 YES YES No schools within 25km $1,885 80 220 9.5 8.5 0.89 13.46 $990 K-8 K-8
284 The Southern Franc. Education Re 2149 École du Nouveau-Monde K-6 $0 $0 $0 $1,650 80 150 6.5 6.5 1.00 0.00 $0 K-9 K-6
284 The Southern Franc. Education Re 1364 Ecole Terre des Jeunes K-6 $23,813 $0 $23,813 YES YES No schools within 6km $1,650 80 150 6.5 6.5 1.00 0.00 $0 K-6 K-6
284 The Southern Franc. Education Re 1378 Notre-Dame de la Paix K-6 $24,974 $0 $24,974 YES YES Schools within 6km do not have available capacity $1,650 80 150 6.5 6.5 1.00 0.00 $0 K-6 K-6
284 The Southern Franc. Education Re 8707 Sainte Marguerite Bourgeoys K-12 $0 $0 $0 $2,944 80 290 12.5 12.5 1.00 0.00 $0 K-12 K-12
$1,735,414 Total
9 Number of Small Schools
9 Number of Small Schools by Necessity
100.0% Percentage
$1,735,414 Small School by Necessity AllocationHigh School Flex
On the Stakeholder File Exchange under School Finance
Base Funding Clas Size Funding
Average Per Student Enrolment Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 4 Tier 1 ADLC Tier 2 ADLC Tier 3 ADLC Tier 4 ADLC Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 2 ADLC Tier 3 ADLC
Tier 1 Total High
Authority (Including Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 4 Total Total Base Total Clas Size School Flex
Code Authority School Code School Block) Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 4 ADLC ADLC ADLC ADLC Grade 10 Grade 11 Grade 12 Enrolment $190.85 $190.85 $190.85 $114.50 $83.97 $83.97 $83.97 $50.38 Funding $12.83 $36.18 $5.65 $15.92 Funding Funding
1175Pembina Hil 2301Barrhead Co 27.43 0.86 5.86 1.5 2.69 0.08 0.06 0 126 137 111 374 $1,957,895.80 $61,384.99 $418,274.49 $64,234.50 $84,482.88 $2,512.50 $1,884.38 $0.00$2,590,669.55 $4,126.64 $79,293.54 $169.05 $357.23 $83,946.45 $2,674,616.00
1175Pembina Hil 2411Richard F Sta 24.61 0.3 6.9 1.65 3.55 0.04 0.02 0 142 134 148 424 $1,991,451.04 $24,276.12 $558,350.76 $80,104.20 $126,397.66 $1,424.20 $712.10 $0.00$2,782,716.09 $1,631.98 $105,848.21 $95.82 $134.99 $107,711.00 $2,890,427.09
268 271 259 798 $3,949,346.84 $85,661.11 $976,625.25$144,338.70 $210,880.55 $3,936.70 $2,596.48 $0.00$5,373,385.63 $5,758.62 $185,141.74 $264.87 $492.22 $191,657.45 $5,565,043.09School Finance Risk Management
and Control Work
38Control Environment • Working towards developing and implementing a financial/funding accountability and compliance program to provide assurance to government, education partners and the public that the education system is appropriately funded and that education funding is effectively managed.
Control Environment
• Increasing demand for accountability (only funding what we say we are funding)
• Increasing scrutiny from the Office of the Auditor General of our monitoring processes
• Receiving more information that show school authorities may not be following funding
rules. Sources include:
– Analysis of system data
– Parents calling to raise a concern or complain
– Current review work
• Authorities have been interpreting rules very liberally and we are finding the
requirements are not always being met.Monitoring & Assurance
• Enrolment verification desk audit
– Refining sampling process year after year
– Focus on higher risk areas for funding errors
– Focus on authorities who continue to have difficulty with their processes
– CRITICAL – maintain all required supporting documentation for ALL the
students that you are claiming as September 30th enrolled (even if they
leave prior to our audit process)
• What we need to validate
– Age (is within funded range)
– Registration and Attendance
– Citizenship requirements are met
– Residency requirements are metMonitoring & Assurance
• Program Unit Funding (PUF)
– Ensure appropriate application of PUF funding rules and requirements
– Historically – completed a high level review of compliance as we calculate
the PUF final payment.
• Course Prerequisites
– Data may be reviewed annually to ensure funding is only provided for
courses when their mandatory prerequisites were successfully fulfilled prior
to taking the course.Monitoring & Assurance
• Designated Special Education Private Schools (DSEPS)
– Two levels of mild/moderate funding for DSEPS
– Parent consultation with the appropriate resident board,
documentation of the consultation and providing evidence of that
consultation to Alberta Education are required in order to receive
funding at the higher rate.
– Section 3.2 of the Funding Manual for School Authorities has
recently been updated to clarify the requirements.Monitoring & Assurance
• It is critical that you meet the deadlines identified in the funding manual
• Less exceptions are being made for authorities who miss deadlines due
to the impact it has on control monitoring and accountability requirements
• The Funding Manual for School Authorities outlines the requirements to
qualify for each type of funding
• If you are not in compliance with the requirements outlined in the funding
manual, you are at risk of losing funding relating to that non-complianceFunding Payments and Deadlines 45
Key Dates and Deadlines
September 30, 2019 Count date – registered and in attendance
October 3, 2019 2019/2020 enrolments in PASI
October 9, 2020 Submit 2019/2020 course marks for Terms 2, 3, 4
November 29, 2019 PUF actual costs for 2018/2019
November 15, 2019 PUF application and Final Budget for 2019/2020 (Private ECS, Private Schools and Charters)
November 29, 2019 PUF application for 2019/2020
(School Jurisdictions)
Feb 03, 2020 Changes to enrolment data in PASI
Feb 14, 2020 Resolve priority school conflicts
May 13, 2020 Submit 2019/2020 course marks for Term 1Funding Payments
• Funding Schedule
– 8.33% of school year allocation each month with exception of:
• January, August – 8.35%
• March payment has two installments
– Early March – 5%
• March 31 – remainder
• Payments adjusted when current year data is available
• When funding or enrolment/CEU data is adjusted during the year, funding system
recalculates the total school year allocation, the amount paid to date and the
balance owing to determine future paymentsThings to Remember • Always check PASI data to FES data to see if funding rules were applied the way you expected • Check the enrolment count page to see why students are in the unfunded category • Reconcile your enrolments regularly to those in FES • Reconcile your payments regularly • Call your Funding Administrator if you have questions
Questions and Contacts - Funding Funding questions should be directed to your assigned Funding Administrator: • Rena Sharma 780-422-0287 • Marilyn Hanson 780-422-0103 • Jackie Hryniw 780-427-2977 • Front Desk 780-427-2055
Questions and Contacts – Information Systems and Grant Calculations Questions about our Funding Information Systems: • Carmen Boyer/Atif Alam (FES) 780-422-6918/780-422-5236 • Atif Alam (PUFS) 780-422-5236 • Carmen Boyer (SFS SharePoint) 780-422-6918 Questions about grant calculations (SSBN, POM, IMR, HSF): • Hardeep Toore 780-644-5673 • Atif Alam 780-422-5236
Training Sessions
• Funding Event System (FES)
– Training docs and video presentations to be uploaded to
SFS SharePoint site
• Program Unit Funding (PUFS)
– PUF eligibility training and information sessions were
recently held on these dates:
Edmonton – September 19, 2019
Calgary – September 16, 2019
Lethbridge – September 23, 2019Training Sessions
• Why are we changing training delivery methods
– Need to be more accessible to more school authorities and
a wider audience within the authorities
– Need to be more cost effective both for Alberta Education
and School Authorities
– Reduce time lost due to travel requirements
– Consider making training available on a more frequent
basis (new people start mid year)Training Sessions
• What we have tried so far
– Face-to-Face training (PUF and FES)
– Training documents posted to AB Education website
– Copies of training presentations posted to AB Education
website
– Recorded walkthrough presentations posted to AB
Education website
• Benefit of posted presentation formats is that they
can be accessed throughout the year by anyone
who has access to the system.Training Sessions • What training could be offered through on-line materials – Funding Event System (FES) – Enrolment verification – PUF application walkthroughs
Other Resources – Check Links • Alberta Education Website: https://www.alberta.ca/education.aspx • Funding Manual for School Authorities: https://open.alberta.ca/publications/1485-5542 • School Jurisdiction Funding Profiles: https://www.alberta.ca/education-projected-operational- funding.aspx?utm_source=redirector • School Jurisdiction Audited Financial Statements: https://open.alberta.ca/publications/2828632-2017-2018 • Online Tools and Resources: https://education.alberta.ca/topic-search/?language=English
Alberta Education Website https://www.alberta.ca/education.aspx
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