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United States Department of Education to Corrina Guardipee-Hall — Browning Public Schools (April 23, 2024)

Summary

A letter dated April 23, 2024 from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, signed by Laura Jimenez, to Corrina Guardipee-Hall, Superintendent of Schools at Browning Public Schools. It responds to the district's April 7, 2024 request for an exception to the local maintenance of equity requirement under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 for fiscal year 2023 at one high-poverty school, Glendale Elementary. The district said enrollment stayed at 15 students but the school lost one teacher and could not rehire because Montana regulations bar State funding for additional staff until an elementary school exceeds 25 students. The Department grants the exception for fiscal year 2023.

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Issuer
Congressional materials
Document type
Department Of Education Pdf Www Ed Gov 8E5242755C
Case
Department Of Education Pdf Www Ed Gov 8E5242755C

Cite this document

“United States Department of Education to Corrina Guardipee-Hall — Browning Public Schools (April 23, 2024).” Original at www.ed.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/department-of-education-pdf-www-ed-gov-8e5242755c/, SHA-256 d53a48fb65917030f07fdf9e594945b4263a585287d959979f993d9cc0013feb.

Full text

                       UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
                           OFFICE OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION




                                          April 23, 2024

Corrina Guardipee-Hall
Director Superintendent of Schools
Browning Public Schools
129 1st Ave SE
Browning, MT 59417


Dear Superintendent Guardipee-Hall:

Thank you for submitting to the U.S. Department of Education (Department) Browning Public
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 2021-2022) 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 due to that school no
longer serving a student with high-cost educational and support needs. Each request for an
exception to the ARP Act requirement involves a case-by-case review by the Department.

According to the materials provided on April 7, 2024, you requested an exception to the
maintenance of equity requirement for one of your high-poverty schools: Glendale Elementary.
According to the materials you provided, Glendale Elementary experienced a decline in full time
equivalent (FTE) staff per students in FY 2023 because even though enrollment stayed static at
15 students, the school lost one teacher from FY 2022 to FY 2023. The district was unable to
rehire an additional FTE staff at Glendale Elementary because Montana state regulations restrict
a district from receiving State funding for additional staff until an elementary school exceeds 25
students 1. After reviewing your request, we concur that the very small size of Glendale
Elementary constitutes a circumstance that meets the criteria for an exception to the maintenance
of equity requirement in FY 2023. As a result, Glendale Elementary is excepted from the local
maintenance of equity requirements for FY 2023.



1
 See, Class Size: Elementary, Admin. R. M. 10.55.712,
https://rules.mt.gov/gateway/RuleNo.asp?RN=10%2E55%2E712.
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 Montana State mailbox
at: Montana.OESE@ed.gov.

                                              Sincerely,

                                              Laura Jimenez

                                              Laura Jimenez
                                              Director, Office of State and Grantee Relations


CC:    The Honorable Elsie Arntzen
       Superintendent of Public Instruction
       Montana Office of Public Instruction

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Our copy
department-of-education-pdf-www-ed-gov-8e5242755c.pdf
Original
www.ed.gov
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