United States Department of Education to Dr. Ronald Wilcox, Superintendent — Hampton County (April 23, 2024)

Summary

Letter dated April 23, 2024 from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, to Dr. Ronald Wilcox, Superintendent of Hampton County School District, 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 cites Section 2004(c)(2) of the ARP Act and states that, according to materials provided on April 3, 2024, six high-poverty schools experienced a decline in State and local per-pupil funding in FY 2023 because of one-time funding received in FY 2022 for a district-wide consolidation that began on July 1, 2021. It states that the Department concurs that this meets the criteria and that the district is excepted for FY 2023. The letter is from Laura Jimenez, Director, Office of State and Grantee Relations.

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Issuer: Congressional materials
Document type: Ppr Int 06De0Fbb0D6A5692 Pdf Cfc7C7Ba2F
Case: Ppr Int 06De0Fbb0D6A5692 Pdf Cfc7C7Ba2F

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“United States Department of Education to Dr. Ronald Wilcox, Superintendent — Hampton County (April 23, 2024).” Original at www.ed.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/ppr-int-06de0fbb0d6a5692-pdf-cfc7c7ba2f/, SHA-256 87d93f5cab5a128b91d304b1397990b5039ea72561238c03cc7d8b5bc9fa2b66.

Full text

                      UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
                          OFFICE OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION




                                          April 23, 2024

Dr. Ronald Wilcox
Superintendent
Hampton County School District
372 East Pine Street
Varnville, SC 29944
Dear Superintendent Wilcox:

Thank you for submitting to the U.S. Department of Education (Department) Hampton County
School District’s 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 3, 2024, you requested an exception to the
maintenance of equity requirement for Hampton County School District. According to the
materials you provided, six high-poverty schools experienced a decline in State and local per-
pupil funding in FY 2023 because of one-time funding they received in FY 2022 to assist with a
district-wide consolidation that began on July 1, 2021. After reviewing your request, we concur
that the one-time expenditure in the baseline year due to school district consolidation constitutes
a circumstance that meets the criteria for an exception to the maintenance of equity requirement
in FY 2023. As a result, Hampton County School District 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 South Carolina State mailbox
at: SouthCarolina.OESE@ed.gov.

                                             Sincerely,

                                             Laura Jimenez

                                             Laura Jimenez
                                             Director, Office of State and Grantee Relations
CC:   The Honorable Ellen Weaver
      State Superintendent of Education
      South Carolina Department of Education

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