The revision of equitable services calculations from preliminary to final ESSER I allocations has resulted in some extenuating circumstances for some districts across the state.  DESE has received several questions pertaining to proposed resolutions for some of these occurrences.  Below is the agency’s response to the questions received.

1. A school district spent more on equitable services from ESSER I than was ultimately required in the final calculations. The nonpublic school wants to pay the school district for the amount spent over the final equitable service requirement and retain the items purchased on its behalf.
   1. This is a reasonable solution to the situation. In this scenario, the public school would receipt the funds received from the nonpublic school as a reduction to expenditure for the function/object of the purchases originally made as equitable services. This will restore funds to the public school for its own use, while maintaining the final equitable service amount spent as required.
2. A school district spent more on equitable services from ESSER I than was ultimately required in the final calculations. Other school districts are now also required to provide some amount of equitable services to the same private school.
   1. The school districts may form a consortium for ESSER I equitable services that allows the newly required districts to pay the original provider district their equitable service funding. This will establish the original provider district as the fiscal agent for the newly added districts, help the original district restore some of its original funding spent, and prevent unintended increases of services to the nonpublic school. The fiscal agent district should receipt funds received from the other consortium districts as a reduction to expenditure for the function/object of the purchases originally made for equitable services. The paying school districts should code the expense to the fiscal agent district as the appropriate function/object for the items purchased on their behalf. This will reduce the equitable service expenses at the fiscal agent district and increase those at the paying districts.
   2. If the fiscal agent district has spent more on equitable services than even the consortium districts’ final equitable services amounts require, the consortium can decide whether to divide the overage amount the contributing districts.
3. It is allowable for a school district to decide to spend more on equitable services than what is required in the final calculations. The district would have to determine if this decision required any school board approval or acknowledgment.