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Exception to Local Maintenance of Equity Requirements — Cannon County Schools (January 31, 2023)

Summary

This is a letter dated January 31, 2023 from the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education at the United States Department of Education to William F. Curtis, Director of Schools at Cannon County Schools in Woodbury, Tennessee, responding to the district's request for an exception to local maintenance of equity requirements under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 in FY 2023. The letter states that, according to materials provided on October 26, 2022, Cannon County Schools experienced an LEA-wide reconfiguration of schools that led to uncontrollable changes in student enrollment in FY 2023 compared to FY 2022. It states that the Department concurs the reconfiguration constitutes an exceptional or uncontrollable circumstance and that Cannon County Schools is excepted from the local maintenance of equity requirements for FY 2023.

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Cite this document

“Exception to Local Maintenance of Equity Requirements — Cannon County Schools (January 31, 2023).” Original at www.ed.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/department-of-education-pdf-2023-www-ed-gov-fba47e4250-243025a845/, SHA-256 bb553912c2f275f48252f920b91a72262387c61bc8f3b7cb5f055a537f41c00b.

Full text

                      UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
                          OFFICE OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION




                                        January 31, 2023



William F. Curtis
Director of Schools
Cannon County Schools
301 West Main Street
Woodbury, TN 37190

Dear Mr. Curtis:

Thank you for submitting to the U.S. Department of Education (Department) Cannon County
Schools’ request for an exception to local maintenance of equity requirements under the
American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP Act) in FY 2023.

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.

According to the materials provided on October 26, 2022, you request an exception to the local
maintenance of equity requirements because Cannon County Schools experienced an LEA-wide
reconfiguration of schools that led to uncontrollable changes in student enrollment in FY 2023
compared to FY 2022. Specifically, Cannon County Schools closed all six elementary schools,
four pre-K-8 schools, and two K-8 schools in FY 2022. It distributed students from these schools
to three new pre-K-5 schools and one new 6-8 school in FY 2023. One high school, serving
grades 9-12, remained open in both FY 2022 and FY 2023. As a result, comparing per-pupil
expenditures and FTE staff at the elementary and middle schools between FY 2022 and FY 2023
does not result in meaningful information about resource availability.

After reviewing your request, we concur that the LEA-wide school reconfiguration constitutes an
exceptional or uncontrollable circumstance. As a result, Cannon County Schools is excepted
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 Tennessee state mailbox
at: Tennessee.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 Penny Schwinn
       Commissioner of Education
       Tennessee Department of Education
       710 James Robertson Parkway
       Nashville, TN 37243

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