An LEA may receive its full allocation of Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education (CTE) Improvement Act (Perkins V) for any fiscal year only if the State educational agency (SEA) determines that the LEA has maintained its fiscal effort in accordance with Perkins IV, Section 311.
Definition
Maintenance of effort (MOE) is a fiscal calculation for two consecutive years to demonstrate that school district expenditures from State and local funds meet or exceed the required amount necessary for Perkins funding. The procedure ensures that federal) funds are used by the district to provide educational services that are additional to the regular services provided through local and State funds.
Source Documentation
As documentation of the district’s maintenance of fiscal effort, a worksheet must be maintained at the local level for review by the CATE monitors during the monitoring visit. The school district’s annual Audit report, normally housed in the school district’s business office, is the source data. The sum of the calculated MOE for each of the two comparison years (preceding and second preceding) must be noted on the school district’s local plan application.
Requirement
Per Section 311, no payments shall be made under this Act for any fiscal year to a State for career and technical education programs or tech prep programs unless the Secretary determines that the fiscal effort per student or the aggregate expenditures of such State for career and technical education programs for the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which the determination is made, equaled or exceeded such effort or expenditures for career and technical education programs for the second fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which the determination is made.
In computing the fiscal effort or aggregate expenditures capital expenditures, special one-time project costs, and the cost of pilot programs are excluded.
Failure to Meet the Requirement
If the amount made available for career and technical education programs under this Act for a fiscal year is less than the amount made available for career and technical education programs under this Act for the preceding fiscal year, then the fiscal effort per student or the aggregate expenditures of a State for the preceding fiscal year shall be decreased by the same percentage as the percentage decrease in the amount so made available
Waiver
A waiver may waive the requirements of this section, with respect to not more than 5 percent of expenditures by any eligible agency for one fiscal year only, on making a determination that such waiver would be equitable due to exceptional or uncontrollable circumstances affecting the ability of the eligible agency to meet such requirements, such as a natural disaster or an unforeseen and precipitous decline in financial resources. No level of funding permitted under such a waiver may be used as the basis for computing the fiscal effort or aggregate expenditures required under this section for years subsequent to the year covered by such waiver. The fiscal effort or aggregate expenditures for the subsequent years shall be computed on the basis of the level of funding that would, but for such waiver, have been required.
Expenditures to be included
The SEA considers the LEA’s state and local fund expenditures including those for the expenditures for the salaries, fixed charges, travel, supplies, or equipment to support Career and Technology Education (CATE) programs as accurately reported and demonstrate maintenance of effort.
Preceding fiscal year
The preceding fiscal year is the Federal fiscal year, or the 12-month fiscal period most commonly used in a State for official reporting purposes, prior to the beginning of the Federal fiscal year in which funds are available.
LEA fiscal requirements
Three fiscal requirements related to the expenditure of regular State and local funds must be met by the LEA. An LEA must:
- Maintain State and local effort;
- Provide services in project areas with State and local funds that are at least comparable to services provided in areas not receiving Part A services; and
- Use Part A funds to supplement, not supplant regular non-Federal funds.
For further information, please contact: Maria Swygert, Education Associate, 803-734-8456, nmswyger@ed.sc.gov.
