Board of Governors Joan Harrington, Chair Santa Clara University School of Law Fred W. Alvarez Jones Day Denelle M. Dixon-Thayer Mozilla Corporation Martin R. Glick Arnold & Porter LLP Bruce Ives Hewlett-Packard Company July 25, 2014 Superintendent Donald Gill Antioch Unified School District Via email: donaldgill@antioch.k12.ca.us Superintendent Joseph Ovick Contra Costa County Office of Education Via email: jovick@cccoe.k12.ca.us Dolores Jimenez Kaiser Permanente Leo P. Martinez UC Hastings College of the Law Jahan Sagafi Outten & Golden LLP Rohit K. Singla Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP Concerns re: Prior Year Expenditure Calculations in Antioch’s Proposed LCAP & Its Adverse Impact on Increased/Improved Services Due High-Need Students Superintendent Donald Gill and Superintendent Joseph Ovick: Abdi Soltani ACLU of Northern California Staff Guillermo Mayer President & CEO John T. Affeldt Richard A. Marcantonio Managing Attorneys Liz Guillen Director of Legislative & Community Affairs Deborah Harris Director of Development Wynn Hausser Director of Communication Sumi Paik Director of Finance & Administration Angelica K. Jongco Samuel Tepperman-Gelfant Senior Staff Attorneys Marybelle Nzegwu David Zisser Staff Attorneys Rigel S. Massaro Policy & Legal Advocate Brandon Greene Hilary Hammell Attorneys & Law Fellows Patty Leal Finance Manager Princess Masilungan Legal Administrative Coordinator Jesse White Communication & Development Coordinator On behalf of Public Advocates, as well as CCISCO: Contra Costa Interfaith Supporting Community Organization, GRIOT (Greatness Rediscovered In Our Time), and the NAACP - East County Chapter, we raise a major concern regarding Antioch Unified School District’s Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP). As a nonprofit law firm that has pushed for greater equitable funding in education for the past 42 years, Public Advocates is working to ensure the foundational principles of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) are reflected in district LCAPs. We appreciate the transparency the district has provided in Section 3.D of its LCAP regarding its proportionality calculation. However, we have strong concerns regarding the district’s improper inclusion of many expenses in its estimate of prior year (FY 2013-14) services for highneed or “unduplicated” pupils. This action has resulted in a significant under-calculation of the funds allocated to “increase or improve services for unduplicated pupils” by approximately $6 million. We urge the district to correct this error immediately. AUSD Overestimates Its Expenditures on Prior Year Unduplicated Pupil Services by Roughly $20 Million. The district’s proportionality calculation under the regulations adopted by the State Board of Education in January (5 C.C.R § 15496) is flawed due to its inclusion of roughly $20 million of services adopted for all pupils as part of its estimate of prior year services for unduplicated pupils. Superintendent Donald Gill Superintendent Joseph Ovick July 25, 2014 Page 2 of 5 Under 5 C.C.R. § 15496(a)(2), an LEA may only count as prior year expenditures “funds expended . . . on services for unduplicated pupils that is in addition to what was expended on services provided for all pupils.” Antioch Unified has not followed these regulations. Instead of counting only services for unduplicated pupils, Antioch has included expenses that appear to be for all pupils. To highlight some of these errors:  Share of deficit spending, $8.5 million: Deficit spending is not only not a service exclusively for unduplicated pupils, but it is not a “service.” Counting over $8 million as a prior expenditure “for unduplicated pupils” is clearly erroneous.  Highly qualified teachers, $3.925 million: The cost of highly qualified teachers does not constitute a service specifically for unduplicated pupils. Under state law, all pupils are entitled to fully credentialed and appropriately assigned teachers as part of the district’s basic instructional program; under federal law, all students in districts accepting Title I funds, as AUSD does, are specifically entitled to “highly qualified” teachers already. An earlier draft of the district’s prior year spending listed $3.3 million for teacher salary increases and $625,000 for a reformed health package. To the extent that this “highly qualified teacher” expenditure merely accounts for across-the board salary increases and increased health benefits for teachers, they arguably do not qualify as “services” for pupils at all as they represent higher compensation to teachers but result in no different level of service for pupils. Yet, even putting that major concern aside, such costs flow evenly across the district and in no way constitute a prior year service “for unduplicated pupils.”  Flex computer lab hours, $1.99 million: Computer lab hours appear to be a service districtwide for all pupils—and not just unduplicated pupils.  Sufficient textbooks & materials, $1.7 million, Instructional materials, $1.1 million, Clean & safe facilities, $500,000: Like the provision of fully credentialed and appropriately assigned teachers, the district is required by state law to provide all pupils with sufficient textbooks and instructional materials as well as clean and safe facilities independent of LCFF and regardless of unduplicated pupil status.1 While the expenditures above constitute some of the district’s largest prior year expenses, the overwhelming majority of the other identified expenditures—aside from a handful including 1 The expenditures discussed here are based on page 2 of the attached Budget Addendum document to the AUSD LCAP listing the breakdown of the $24,048,494.31 in supplemental and concentration funding for 2013-14. That document is available online: http://antiochca.schoolloop.com/file/1240064366129/1241325309507/741792334920137893.pdf. The district provided preliminary information on Antioch Unified’s prior year expenditures in a document dated June 19, 2014 (also attached). While the document is labeled “DRAFT FOR DISCUSSION AND PLANNING ONLY” and some of the listed actions and services are different, the total amount matches the final amount provided in Section 3.D of the adopted LCAP and Totals provided in the Budget Addendum document. Superintendent Donald Gill Superintendent Joseph Ovick July 25, 2014 Page 3 of 5 Economic Impact Aid and Trained District Foster Youth liaison2—do not appear to be services provided specifically “for unduplicated pupils” as opposed to simply constituting general core programming provided “for all pupils.” For example, such general program expenditures as “Summer Bridge/Algebra Academy,” “ongoing professional development,” “accredited induction program” for teachers, and “District-wide Data tracking,” obviously touch unduplicated pupils by serving “all pupils” or being districtwide in nature, but cannot be characterized post hoc as services provided specifically for the unduplicated subset of the district’s students. Indeed, Antioch Unified identifies many of these expenditures as services for all pupils given that—according to the LCAP Budget Addendum document—the vast majority are reported in Section 3.A of the LCAP template, which is reserved for “annual actions . . . to be performed to meet the goals . . . for ALL pupils and the goals specifically for subgroups of pupils . . . not listed in Table 3B below.” In comparison, Table 3B is reserved for identifying “additional annual actions . . . above what is provided for all pupils that will serve low-income, English learner, and /or foster youth pupils . . . .” Thus, actions and services for unduplicated pupils are reported in Section 3.B, rather than Section 3.A of the template. By counting as prior year expenditures numerous actions and services that it reported as continuing services in Section 3.A (i.e., services for all pupils or for pupil subgroups other than unduplicated pupils), Antioch Unified appears to concede that it is attributing prior year funds spent on services for all pupils to services for unduplicated pupils. If the district believes it is justified in treating any of its designated prior year expenditures (other than EIA, the foster youth liaison, and those services described in footnote 1 above) as “funds expended. . . on services for unduplicated pupils that is in addition to what was expended on services provided for all pupils” please provide us with your rationale. AUSD’s Overestimate of Prior Year Expenditures Deflates Its Obligation to Increase or Improve Services for Unduplicated Pupils by Approximately $6 Million. The State Board’s LCFF expenditure regulations set forth a 7-step formula for determining the proportional increase or improvement in services due high need students in the LCAP year.3 The district’s current adopted LCAP errs in its application of this 7-step formula and, thereby, underestimates the amount of supplemental and concentration dollars Antioch needs to spend on increasing or improving services in 2014-15 by approximately $6 million. Even accepting that those expenditures identified in Footnote 1 should all properly be counted as 2 While it is hard to tell absent further information, it is possible that the following represent legitimate expenditures for services on unduplicated pupils: counselors to focus on high need students (which appears listed twice), trained bilingual site liaison, highly qualified CLAD/BCLAD teachers, and “CCSS and ELD Standard and EDI”. Of course, these amounts and whether the funds were actually used as proposed to focus on unduplicated pupils would be subject to verification in the annual update next year. These expenditures, including the foster youth liaison, total at most $1,489,112. 3 See 5 C.C.R. § 15496(a). Superintendent Donald Gill Superintendent Joseph Ovick July 25, 2014 Page 4 of 5 prior year expenses on services for unduplicated pupils (which we may contest), the first four steps (where the district’s key errors take place) are as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. Determine the district’s target supplemental and concentration spending at full LCFF implementation. $26,365,785. Determine the prior year funds expended on services for unduplicated pupils, at a minimum using the 2012-13 Economic Impact Aid funding level. $2,262,290 (EIA expenditures) + $1,489,112 (counting all services identified in footnote 1) = $3,751,402 Subtract from the target in step 1 the prior year unduplicated expenditures in step 2 to determine the current gap between unduplicated pupil spending and the full implementation target. $26,365,785 – $3,751,402 = $22,614,383. Multiply the current gap of $22.6 million by 29.56%, the percent step toward full LCFF funding the State is taking in 2014-15, to determine the additional supplemental and concentration funds for the district in 2014-15. $22,614,383 x .2956 = $6,684,812. In contrast, Antioch Unified’s calculation at Section 3.D of its adopted LCAP has very different figures. At step 2, Antioch Unified dramatically overstates expenses on prior year services by including an additional $20 million in spending (above the district’s $2.3 million on EIA funding and $1.5 million of potentially targeted services) for a total of $24 million in prior year spending on services for unduplicated pupils. Carrying this amount forward, Antioch Unified claims it has already reached 94% of its target supplemental and concentration funding of $26 million. As a result, the district provides for only $650,000 of additional supplemental and concentration funding to increase or improve services for unduplicated pupils in the next year (Step 4). This is far less than the required $6,684,812, as shown above. By overstating the amount of funding Antioch Unified is already spending for unduplicated pupils, the district deprives its high-need students of more than $6 million in increased or improved services for 2014-15. Left uncorrected, this deprivation of services will replicate itself anew and compound, every year, in perpetuity. The County Superintendent Is Responsible for Ensuring AUSD Properly Calculates Its Supplemental and Concentration Funds. The County Superintendent is responsible for ensuring the district properly calculates is supplemental and concentration funds. To approve the LCAP, the county must determine that the plan “adheres to the expenditure requirements adopted pursuant to [Ed. Code § 42238.07],” which include the 7-step proportionality calculation at 5. C.C.R. § 15496(a).4 Indeed, the California County Superintendents Education Services Association (CCSESA) instructs counties that “Adherence to SBE Expenditure Regulations,” including verification of the proportionality percentage calculation, is one of three key criteria for LCAP approval.5 Thus, prior to approving 4 See Ed. Code § 52070(d). See CCSESA LCAP Approval Manual (2014-15 Ed.), at pp. 2, 33, available at http://ccsesa.org/special-projects/lcap-approval-manual/. 5 Superinteendent Donaald Gill Superinteendent Josep ph Ovick July 25, 2014 2 Page 5 off 5 the district LCAP and d budget, thee county mu ust ensure thaat the districct has done itts proportionnality calculatio on correctly,, including th he underlyin ng step of esttimating its pprior year exxpenditures on services for f undupliccated pupils. Conclusiion and Requ uest for Actio on We W urge the district d to am mend its LCA AP to recalcuulate its prioor year expennditures andd adjust itss new suppleemental and concentratio c on spending for 2014-15 without furtther delay. Should Antioch A Uniffied fail to do o so, the cou unty must dissapprove thee district’s L LCAP and buudget by Augusst 15th and ensure the LC CAP compliees with the llaw. Given thhe significannt impact onn the opportun nities of high h-need studen nts, we will consider anyy and all means, includinng legal recourse,, to ensure co ompliance with w the law. Please conffirm your muutual compliiance with thhe LCFF staatute and exp penditure reg gulations by y August 15thh. I will be out of o the office until Augusst 11th, pleasse contact Seenior Staff A Attorney he number below b or ajon ngco@publiicadvocates.oorg should yyou wish to Angelicaa Jongco at th discuss th his matter fu urther prior to t my return.. Respectfu fully, John T. Affeldt A Managin ng Attorney & Education n Program Director Public Advocates, In nc. 131 Steuart Street, Su uite 300 San Fran ncisco, CA 94 4105-1241 (415) 431-7430 / jafffeldt@publiccadvocates.o org Enclosurre cc: Bill B Clark, Asssociate Sup perintendent,, Contra Cossta County O Office of Eduucation, bclark@cccoee.k12.ca.us Jo oy Motts, AU USD Schooll Board Mem mber, joymo tts@gmail.ccom Gary G Hack, AUSD A Schoo ol Board Meember, garyhhack2010@yyahoo.com Barbara B Cowan, AUSD School S Board d Member, bbarbarajean.ccowan@gmail.com Diane D Gibson n-Gray, AUS SD School Board B Membber, diane@ddianegibsonggray.com Claire C Smith, AUSD School Board Member, M crcddsmith@yahhoo.com CCISCO C GRIOT G NAACP N – Eaast County Chapter C Parents Conn nected Antioch Unified School District LCAP Budget Projected Expenditures Addendum All Expenditures Pending LCAP Approval Action and Section Service # A 3.2 A 4.1, 4.2, 9.2 A Brief Description Additional computer teachers and staff 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 Supplemental Estimated Cost of Estimated Cost of Estimated Cost of and Concentration Services Supplemental/ Supplemental/ Supplemental/ Concentration Concentration Concentration New Services New Services New Services 700.00 143,300.00 250,000.00 Ongoing professional development 8,700.00 10,000.00 15,000.00 4.2 Professional development training 8,700.00 10,000.00 15,000.00 A 8.2 Student assessment upon enrollment 2,000.00 2,000.00 2,000.00 A/B 8.3, 8.5 15,000.00 10,000.00 10,000.00 A 8.4 Preschool 12,000.00 12,000.00 A 9.1 Algebra 1 support courses A 10.2 Mandatory CAHSEE pretest A 11.1, 15.6, 21.5 A 11.2 A/A/B/B/B 11.3, 6.3, 7.3, 19.1, 19.2 A 11.6 Career Centers A 11.8 California Seal of Biliteracy A 15.1 Community Involvement Coordinator/ LCAP Accountability A 15.4 Trained site bilingual liaison A 16.1 Extended Day Opportunities for Arts/High interest A 17.2 District Attendance bilingual liaison A 20.3 Restorative Practices and PBIS A 21.3 Transition Program A 22.1 Cultural Humility training/FHAO/NCBI A 22.2 School-site summit B 4.7 Summer School B 5.1 Core teachers ELD Knowledge B 5.3 Long Term English Learners B 7.1 Highly qualified CLAD/BCLAD teachers B 7.2 7th Period for English Learners B 9.3 Site-based math mentoring/tutoring B 11.9 Trained District Foster Youth liaison B 12.3 B Targeted intervention for high need students 700.00 - - 1,000.00 1,000.00 1,000.00 African American Male Achievement Initiative 90,000.00 93,000.00 142,000.00 District-wide Data Tracking 25,000.00 50,000.00 100,000.00 91,000.00 91,000.00 2,500.00 10,000.00 20,000.00 1,700.00 1,700.00 1,700.00 130,000.00 130,000.00 180,000.00 84,000.00 112,000.00 140,000.00 50,000.00 95,800.00 65,000.00 65,000.00 65,000.00 10,500.00 10,500.00 25,000.00 Increase counselors to focus on high need students - - - - 10,000.00 5,000.00 6,000.00 500.00 500.00 500.00 75,000.00 75,000.00 2,500.00 - 3,000.00 4,000.00 50,000.00 100,000.00 3,000.00 4,000.00 100,000.00 275,000.00 15,000.00 15,000.00 15,000.00 91,000.00 91,000.00 91,000.00 ELD teacher focus 2,500.00 3,000.00 4,000.00 12.4 CCSS and ELD Standard and EDI 2,500.00 3,000.00 4,000.00 B 12.5 Increase Data Technician hours for EL 82,000.00 82,000.00 82,000.00 B 15.8 Develop Foster Parent Advisory Group 1,000.00 B 19.1 Counselors focus on high need students Totals 2,500.00 12,000.00 - - 650,000 1,000.00 1,000.00 91,000.00 182,000.00 1,325,000.00 2,025,000.00 Current Expenditures A 4.1, 4.2, 9.2 Ongoing professional development 43,362.98 43,362.98 43,362.98 43,362.98 A 4.2 Professional development training 21,681.49 21,681.49 21,681.49 21,681.49 A/B 8.3, 8.5 Targeted intervention for high need students 91,950.18 91,950.18 91,950.18 91,950.18 A 11.2 District-wide Data Tracking 90,134.93 90,134.93 90,134.93 90,134.93 A/A/B/B/B 11.3, 6.3, 7.3, 19.1, 19.2 1,095,591.05 1,095,591.05 1,095,591.05 1,095,591.05 A 15.4 Trained site bilingual liaison 64,868.24 64,868.24 64,868.24 64,868.24 B 7.1 Highly qualified CLAD/BCLAD teachers 21,681.49 21,681.49 21,681.49 21,681.49 B 11.9 Trained District Foster Youth liaison 64,446.53 64,446.53 64,446.53 64,446.53 B 12.4 CCSS and ELD Standard and EDI 21,681.49 21,681.49 21,681.49 21,681.49 B 19.1 Counselors focus on high need students 128,893.07 128,893.07 128,893.07 128,893.07 A 10.1 CAHSEE Preparation 90,134.93 90,134.93 90,134.93 90,134.93 A 22.3 School Loop 38,287.96 38,287.96 38,287.96 38,287.96 A 3.4 Library technicians (library research DB) 48,886.87 48,886.87 48,886.87 48,886.87 A 1.3 Accredited Induction Program 21,681.49 21,681.49 21,681.49 21,681.49 A 1.4 Sufficient textbooks and materials 1,721,777.31 1,721,777.31 1,721,777.31 1,721,777.31 A 1.5 Facilities will be clean, safe 499,577.01 499,577.01 499,577.01 499,577.01 A 3.3 Flex Computer Lab Hours 1,991,540.06 1,991,540.06 1,991,540.06 1,991,540.06 A 4.3 Special classes/programs 1,158,051.10 1,158,051.10 1,158,051.10 1,158,051.10 A 4.4 Coaching model of professional dev. 303,540.89 303,540.89 303,540.89 303,540.89 A 4.5 Research-based assessments 70,181.60 70,181.60 70,181.60 70,181.60 A 15.7 Communication strategies 38,287.96 38,287.96 38,287.96 38,287.96 A 17.1 Building relationships/Home visits 111,880.90 111,880.90 111,880.90 111,880.90 Increase counselors to focus on high need students B 9.4 Summer Bridge/Algebra Academy 134,500.00 134,500.00 134,500.00 134,500.00 A 15.5 Parents/students computer resource 230,000.00 230,000.00 230,000.00 230,000.00 A 16.3 School-site Student Advisory Committees 90,134.93 90,134.93 90,134.93 90,134.93 A 6.1 Parent/student info workshops 90,134.93 90,134.93 90,134.93 90,134.93 A 11.4 Career Tech courses 22,865.48 22,865.48 22,865.48 22,865.48 A 3.1 Instructional materials 1,090,592.44 1,090,592.44 1,090,592.44 1,090,592.44 9,396,347 9,396,347.31 9,396,347.31 9,396,347.31 Subtotal A A N/A 2.1 1.1 N/A School Site LCAP funding (EIA) Highly qualified teachers Share of Deficit Spending Total 2013-14 2,262,290.00 3,925,000.00 8,464,857.00 24,048,494.31 2,262,290.00 3,925,000.00 2,262,290.00 3,925,000.00 2,262,290.00 3,925,000.00 LCFF Proportionality Calculation for 2014-15 LCAP year (Antioch Unified School District) Steps for Calculation The amount of the LCFF target attributed to supplemental and concentration grants for the 2014?15 LCAP year. 26,365,785.00 The total amount of LCFF funds expended on services for unduplicated students in 2012-13. 24,048,494.00 How much was spent on Economic Impact Aid in 2012-13? 2.2621290:o? What additional programs/services are included in this estimate for 2012-13 spending spending on unduplicated pupils? (Describe/name each program and also include the dollar amount for each) Difference between Step 1 and 2 Step 3 multiplied by the most recent percentage calculated by the Department of Finance that represents how much of the statewide funding gap between current funding and full implementation of LCFF is eliminated in this fiscal year floor which the LEAP is adopted. 28.05% Step 2 plus Step 4 21,786,204.00 2,317,291.00 650,000.00 24,698,494.00 Subtract Step 5 from the total amount of LCFF funding, excluding add ons for the Targeted Instructional Improvement Grant program and the Home to School Transportation program for the 2014-15 LCAP yeah Divide Step 5 by Step 6 to yield a percentage if Step 3 yields a number less than or equal to zero, determine the percentage by dividing the amount of the LCFF target attributed to the supplemental and concentration grant by the remainder of the LEA's LCFF funding, excluding add-ons for the Targeted Instructional Improvement Grant program and the Home to School Transportation program. 101,980,013.00 24.2% X:\Business Services\Accou nting\Mia's (Community proportionality calculation for 2014-15 LCAP year 6/19/2014 10:47 AM ANTIOCH UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT (DRAFT FOR DISCUSSION AND PLANNING ONLY) Category Amount Counseling 1,288,931 Custodial 181,395 Elementary Vice Principals 450,675 Additional Student Support for Special Education 1,158,051 Additional School Program/Instructional Oversight and Accountability Support 433,630 Interpreters and Translation Services 64,868 Career Centers 22,865 Technology Helpdesk Support 71,540 Security Contracted Security Service 318,182 Technology - Student Attendance Tracking System 111,881 Technology - District? Wide Technology Upgrades 4,600,000 Technology - Measured Progress 70,182 Technology STAR AR 1,815 Technology - Communication - i.e. SchoolLoop, Autodialer 76,576 Summer Academies 134,500 Library Research Software 48,887 Student and Teacher Instructional Materials 362,370 Salary Increase 3,300,000 Reformed Health Package 625,000 Share of Deficit Spending 8,464,857 Total 21,786,204 Internet proportionality calculation for 2014- 15 LCAP year - (5/19/2014 1:04 PM