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Kingdom East School District Request for an Exception to Local Maintenance of Equity Requirements

Summary

Laura Jimenez of the Office of State and Grantee Relations tells Jennifer Botzojorns, Superintendent of Schools at Kingdom East School District in Vermont, on January 31, 2023 that the Department agrees Miller's Run School may be excluded from local maintenance of equity requirements for FY 2023. The district had asked on December 14, 2022 for an exception under section 2004(c)(2) of the ARP Act for one high-poverty school. The Department cites unpredictable enrollment, from 95 students in FY 2021 to 114 in FY 2022 and 136 in FY 2023, and finds the school's small size and volatility an exceptional or uncontrollable circumstance. The Vermont Secretary of Education is copied.

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Cite this document

“Kingdom East School District Request for an Exception to Local Maintenance of Equity Requirements.” Original at www.ed.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/department-of-education-pdf-2023-www-ed-gov-f612e84aa5-482299080b/, SHA-256 d082eeb693202a7ae401d8d43e7f5d88f0cccfc19b1a50e36afb7fface35650f.

Full text

                       UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
                          OFFICE OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION




                                        January 31, 2023
Jennifer Botzojorns
Superintendent of Schools
Kingdom East School District
P.O. Box 129, 64 Campus Lane
Lyndon Center, VT 05850

Dear Ms. Botzojorns:

Thank you for submitting to the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) Kingdom East
School District’s request for an exception to the local maintenance of equity requirements under
the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP Act)

Section 2004(c)(2) of the ARP Act specifies that a local educational agency (LEA) may be
excepted from maintenance of equity requirements if the LEA “demonstrates an exceptional or
uncontrollable circumstance, such as unpredictable changes in student enrollment or a
precipitous decline in the financial resources of [the LEA], as determined by the Secretary.”
Examples of an “exceptional or uncontrollable circumstance” include increased one-time
expenditures in the baseline year (school year 2020-2021) due to the pandemic, a very small
school where maintenance of equity calculations do not result in meaningful information about
resource availability, or a significant change in the expenses of a school that no longer serves a
student whose educational and support needs required services that have a particularly high cost.
Each request for an exception requires a case-by-case review by the Department.

On December 14, 2022, the Department received your request for an exception to the
maintenance of equity requirement for one of your high-poverty schools in FY 2023 – Miller’s
Run School. According to the materials you provided, Miller’s Run School has experienced
unpredictable changes in enrollment, from 95 students in FY 2021 to 114 students in FY 2022
and 136 students in FY 2023.

After reviewing your request, we concur that the small size and volatility of enrollment at
Millers’ Run School constitutes an exceptional or uncontrollable circumstance that prevents
Kingdom East School District from meeting the maintenance of equity requirement for Miller’s
Run School in FY 2023. As a result, Kingdom East School District may exclude Miller’s Run
School from the local maintenance of equity requirements for FY 2023.

Thank you again for reaching out to the Department and for your ongoing commitment to
maintaining equity. If you have any questions, please contact the Vermont state mailbox
at: Vermont.OESE@ed.gov.
                                       Sincerely,

                                       Laura Jimenez

                                       Laura Jimenez
                                       Director, Office of State and Grantee Relations
                                       Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
                                       United States Department of Education

CC:   The Honorable Daniel M. French
      Secretary of Education
      Vermont Agency of Education

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