Exception to the Requirement That Fremont County School District #1 Maintain Equity (July 7, 2022)

Summary

A letter dated July 7, 2022 from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education to Dave Barker, Ed.D., Superintendent of Fremont County School District #1. It responds to the district's April 12, 2022 request for an exception to the maintenance of equity requirement for its two high-poverty schools in fiscal years 2022 and 2023. The district said Pathfinder High School has 49 students, up from 38, while Lander Valley High School has nearly 600, so that small enrollment changes at Pathfinder dramatically change per-pupil funding. The Department concurs that this is an exceptional or uncontrollable circumstance and grants the exception for fiscal year 2022.

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Issuer: Congressional materials
Document type: Department Of Education Pdf Www Ed Gov C1F737763E
Case: Department Of Education Pdf Www Ed Gov C1F737763E

Cite this document

“Exception to the Requirement That Fremont County School District #1 Maintain Equity (July 7, 2022).” Original at www.ed.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/department-of-education-pdf-www-ed-gov-c1f737763e/, SHA-256 8550bc07ad7c73a928d9dba0d62fd77054c220004ce7daddcfbc2a37dfbc32da.

Full text

                      UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
                          OFFICE OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION




                                          July 7, 2022

Dave Barker, Ed.D.
Superintendent
Fremont County School District #1
863 Sweetwater Street
Lander, WY 82520

Dear Dr. Barker,

Thank you for submitting to the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) your request for
an exception to the requirement that Fremont County School District #1 maintain equity in its
two high-poverty schools in fiscal years (FYs) 2022 and 2023.

As you know, section 2004(c)(2) of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 specifies that a local
educational agency (LEA) need not maintain equity 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.” An
“exceptional or uncontrollable circumstance” might include, for example, increased one-time
expenditures in the baseline year (school year 2020-2021) due to the pandemic, a very small
school where the 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 April 12, 2022, the Department received your request for an exception to the maintenance of
equity requirement for your high-poverty schools in FYs 2022 and 2023. You note that
Pathfinder High School is always a high-poverty school but the other high-poverty school
fluctuates from year to year; in FY 2022 it is Lander Middle School whereas in FY 2021 it was
Baldwin Creek Elementary School, a grades 4-5 school. According to the materials you
provided, Fremont County School District #1 is a small LEA that includes six schools with the
following grade span configurations; PreK–3, K–5, 4–5, 6–8, and 9–12. Four schools serve a
unique grade span with different funding and staffing needs; two schools serve grades 9-12. Of
the two high schools, Pathfinder High School has 49 students and Lander Valley High School
has nearly 600 students. Moreover, you note that enrollment at Pathfinder increased from 38 in
the 2020-2021 school year to 49 students in the 2021-2022 school year and that small changes in
enrollment at Pathfinder can dramatically change per-pupil funding.

After reviewing your request, we concur that the small size and volatility of enrollment at
Pathfinder constitutes an exceptional or uncontrollable circumstance that prevents Fremont
County School District #1 from meeting the maintenance of equity requirement in FY 2022. This
volatility of student enrollment at Pathfinder and the significant difference in the size of each
high school mean that comparisons between the two schools serving grades 9-12 do not result in
meaningful information about resource availability when evaluating whether equity was
maintained. With respect to Lander Middle School, it is the only school that serves grades 6-8;
thus, there are no other schools in that grade span with which to compare Lander’s per-pupil
funding and full-time equivalent staffing. As a result, Fremont County School District #1 is
excepted from the local maintenance of equity requirements for FY 2022.

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 Wyoming state mailbox
at: Wyoming.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 Brian Schroeder
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Wyoming Department of Education

File and source

File: department-of-education-pdf-www-ed-gov-c1f737763e.pdf
Size: 223,820 bytes
SHA-256: 8550bc07ad7c73a928d9dba0d62fd77054c220004ce7daddcfbc2a37dfbc32da
Our copy: department-of-education-pdf-www-ed-gov-c1f737763e.pdf
Original: www.ed.gov