I have my vintage Slurpee cup, if you haven't seen it. 

I see it. OK. Good afternoon, everyone. And thank you for joining today's webinar. It's the CAEP fiscal update. My name is Veronica Parker, and I am with the CAEP technical assistance project. And we also have Neil Kelly from the state CAEP office. We have about 1 minute or so before we get started. But I'd like to check in just to make sure that everyone's able to hear me at this time. I want to make sure that we have quality sound so that we can move forward exactly at 12 o'clock PM. 

I can hear you fine. 

All right, thank you. 

Yep, gotcha. 

Great, thank you. That's one good thing about Zoom, I appreciate the verbal feedback. 

[AUDIO RECORDING FEEDBACK] 

If everyone can mute themselves, that would be great. And everyone should be muted upon entry. However, if that does not work for whatever reason, if you could please mute yourself, that would be great. I don't really know where that feedback came from, but I'm glad we were able to clear it up so we can move forward. The time is now 12 o'clock PM, so we'll go ahead and get started. 

Again, my name is Veronica Parker and I'm with the CAEP technical assistance project. And then we have Neil Kelly, who is with the state CAEP office. And we will be facilitating today's webinar on some CAEP fiscal updates, as well as a live demonstration of the CFAD process and the allocation amendment process. 

But before we get started, I've already checked in so I know that everyone's able to hear me. However, if you are experiencing any technical difficulties, please be sure to let us know in the chat, and then I will private chat you and try to resolve whatever issue you may be experiencing. I see that some attendees have already started to put their name and their agency in the chat. If you have signed in and you have used a name other than what you have registered, we strongly encourage you to please let us know who you are so that we can account for you in our attendance system. And then also-- yes, so definitely let us know who you are in the chat. 

If you have any questions throughout the webinar, please be sure to type those into the chat. As we're moving along throughout the webinar, we will address questions. However, if you are unable to get to your question during the webinar, we'll be sure to get to your question at the end of the webinar. As I mentioned before, everyone is muted upon entry. However, if for some reason, you are not muted, please be sure to mute yourself. We want to make sure that we don't pick up on any feedback or additional conversations that may interrupt the webinar. 

This webinar is being recorded and will be available on the California Adult Education website. So you'll be able to access the webinar as well as the PowerPoint presentation later on this afternoon. You can view it for however you see fit, or you can send it to colleagues who were unable to attend today's webinar. 

I believe that is all that I have. As we get started with today's webinar, I will turn it over to Neil. And again, if you have any questions or if you experience any difficulty, please be sure to type it in the chat and I will address you. Neil? 

Thanks, Veronica. Welcome, everyone. So this is in lieu of our Friday office hours. The last, I think it's been two or three weeks, we've been having Friday office hours. And starting next week, we're going to go into kind of a regional meeting focus. So on Monday, I think Northern California, we're going to have a separate kind of office hours with Northern California specifically so we can do some sharing and networking. And then we'll do one with all the other regions over the next three weeks. And then maybe we'll start back with those office hours on Fridays. 

But today, today's webinar is strictly focused on the CFAD and how to do CFAD certification, allocation amendments, all those good things in NOVA, as well as policy related to that. I am having problems with my keyboard due to my Wi-Fi, so I'm having trouble typing in the chat. I don't have the ability to type the letters W, E, or R, which are pretty important letters. So if you do have questions, I'll try to answer them verbally rather than typing in the chat. 

I know that's a problem sometimes because Veronica is going to be going over some demos and I'll be sitting here trying to respond to your chat. But just FYI on that. So Veronica, I don't know if I have the ability to move slides. So if you could move to the next slide, OK. So here's today's agenda talking about the CFAD's importance, the allocations for 2021, what's happening politically, the subject of COLA, the governor's suspension of some of the Brown Act and public meeting requirements. 

Then, Veronica will go over how to submit the CFAD, how to do an allocation amendment, any other NOVA basics and reminders. And then we'll wrap up and answer any additional questions you may have. So with that, let's move on into CFAD's importance. OK, let me move this chat over a little bit so I can see the slides. 

OK, so if you're new to the CAEP, the California Adult Ed Program, the CFAD is critically important because the CFAD is the way that you're going to get your funding for the year. So it's a process where the decision-makers in your consortia get together in a public form and make allocation decisions for the next school year. So the CFAD that's due May 2 would be for the 2021 year. 

The CFAD process always-- also allows you to change your fiscal structure. So there's two fiscal structures in the CAEP. One is having a fiscal agent that the state sends the money to and then the fiscal agent gives the money to the members, or you could be direct funded where you don't have a fiscal agent and the state sends the money directly to that district. 

The other thing that the CFAD does, it allows you to decide whether or not you're going to fund members. There is ed code 84914 that allows you to not fund members because maybe the member can't do it or doesn't-- can no longer-- doesn't have the infrastructure or no longer wishes to do it, or that the consortium has found them ineffective. So that's a decision you can make at that point as well. 

Another reason why the CFAD is so important is it allows the CAEP office the ability to set up the statewide disbursement of funds. So when you guys submit your CFAD and certify it, we know how much each member is going to receive. So when we set up the interagency agreement between CDE and the Chancellor's Office, and we give the Department of Education $420 million or so, so they can send that out to county offices and K-12 fiscal agents and direct funded members, by that CFAD, that allows us to do that efficiently and effective. 

The last few years, we haven't really been efficient and effective. But we're hoping this year, since we already have board approval, that all we're waiting for is your CFAD. And I'm currently working on the inter-agency agreement. And that's almost over to Department of Education. So all we have to do is slip in the exhibit that shows how much each member is getting for direct-funded, and we can be on our way. 

There is a state statute that says we have to give this money up 45 days after the state budget is enacted, so we always want to meet that. We've been trying to meet that. And so we'll keep at it because we know delayed funding and disbursement of funds is important for you at the local level, because you have bills to pay. And then the last one provides funding to local member districts in time for fall classes. We know that's critical because you can't run on reserves, you can't borrow money, those kind of things. 

So let's see if there's any questions regarding the importance of the CFAD. I saw some stuff coming up here, but maybe-- so Wendy says, is there documentation somewhere where you can read the difference between direct funded and a fiscal agent? I think it's in the-- Wendy, if you go to our fiscal management guide, here's a good definition of what direct funded is and what a fiscal agent is. And you know, with direct funded, the money goes straight there. With the fiscal agent, there are some ed code requirements. You can't take a certain amount. You have to get the money out within a certain amount of time. 

So there are quite a few things with a fiscal agent in what they can-- administrative costs. I don't want to get into it today, but there is a lot of detail in that fiscal management guide. And maybe Holly or Veronica can put that in the chat as far as a link, that would be great. 

OK, so moving on to the next slide-- all right. So the allocations, this is kind of important because we did get a 2.29% increase. And so that is reflected in the preliminary allocation that went out by the end of February this year. And so I'm thinking maybe next slide, I cover this. But anyway, let's go over this slide and then we can talk about May revise and those kind of things. 

So the CFAD is still due May 2, because we need that information to create the interagency agreement in order to disperse the funds by the end of August. So I can't provide any extra time, any extensions. May 2 is a hard date. So the chancellor's office and the CDE, we have to improve that interagency agreement as a result of the CFAD information. And we release those funds between-- actually, it starts in August and goes through the end of June. But we'd like to get that interagency agreement signed between May and June so it can be released in August. 

Governor's budget is usually approved by July 1, so 45 days after that budget. We have to get that money out, so that's usually about August, mid-August. Get it out, and then controllers gets it out of the county office. So usually, it winds up on the district doorstep sometime in September and October, if all goes well. And then, like I said, CAEP funds are released in 11 installments through May. 

So let's talk about the May revise really quick. So I've heard different things about the May revise. I heard like, oh, they're not going to have a budget until this fall. And then I hear, oh, they're going to do a May revise on the second week of May like they've always done. So it'll be important to see what's in that May revise the second week of May. 

Are they going to take back all the COLAs when they take back our 2.29 COLA? And so if that happens, we'll have to do a revised CFAD. So we're kind of in a few different scenarios. Scenario 1 would be we get the COLA. We submit the CFAD May 2, all as well. And that's kind of how we're proceeding right now. 

Now, if we go through that step 1 and we submit all our CFADs May 2. And all of a sudden, May revise comes out and they wipe out all the COLAs for everyone. Then you'll have to submit a revised CFAD. And I'll be working with the direct-funded agencies-- and I've already been working with those direct-funded agencies-- to find out if anybody's going to get less than they did in the prior year. Because I have to get that interagency agreement and that exhibit showing all the funding by district to CDE, so they can release that to you, hopefully, in August. 

So hopefully, that makes sense. We're working with a couple of different scenario. The third scenario that we don't want to have happen is they cut our COLA and they cut our funding. I'm hoping that they'll only-- if worst case scenario, they just cut the COLA, and they save the base funding. And we just-- everybody gets the same as the prior year, then we're OK. 

But if that doomsday scenario is where they go deep, cut the COLA and they cut our program, then we're in kind of uncharted territory. And we'll have to provide guidance on that. We hope we don't get there, but if they cut our COLA, it'll be like last year where we had to do a revised CFAD, and you had to resubmit that. And Veronica will go over that, of how that looks in NOVA. But you went through this last year, should be somewhat familiar if we have to go through that same scenario. 

Let's see if there's-- oh, I see a question here. OK, so Bob says, so when he says can't hear you, OK. Well, I think you're the only one. But she's fine now. OK, thanks. So Bob said, in the last crisis, funding was reduced mid-year. What was allocated in July was cut in December. 

OK. So we'll have to stay tuned. I haven't heard anything, Bob. But it would be good for those who are connected with their professional organizations to keep your hand on the pulse to see what's going on, what's being dialogue over at the capital. I know there's a big influx of federal money. Does that help us? Does that hurt us? Are they looking at all programs? The fact that we get students jobs and educate them and upscale them into different industries, does that help us? Would they cut a program that's going to be part of the economic recovery? 

So we'll see. But that makes it even more important for, if you're doing any kind of adult ed week or adult ed advocacy, to stress that to your public officials, that we are part of the solution-- that taking away our base funding, or any of our funding, is not going to help with the economic recovery. It'll make it worse, especially those that are low income, those people without a high school diploma, those people that need to get a better job, those kind of things. 

So Alicia asks, if it gets reduced, is there a guarantee we'll continue to be restricted rather than flex? So these are restricted funds, so they would have to pass legislation to change the CAEP funding. So CAEP funding are restricted to the seven program areas. And so that hasn't changed. And so it would take an active legislation to do that. So all the more important to talk to your public officials. 

OK. And then Kelly says, do you anticipate any revisions/additions to the fiscal guidance? No. We're not planning to do any revisions or additions. I think the last one we made was maybe last year some time. So we're not thinking there's anything that critical to update that. And there-- thank you, Holly. There's the document there. 

OK, so let's move on to the next slide. All right, so let's talk about COLAs. So if you thought May revise this controversial, let's talk about COLAs. So-- and if they cut our COLA, then this is all mute, right? We don't have to worry about COLAs. But let me just give you some perspective. 

So last year, we got a COLA. And we relied on ed code 84914 that said everybody gets the same amount that they did in the prior year. And the only way you can cut somebody's funding from the prior year is if they met those three criteria. You know, they didn't want to offer the program, and they couldn't, or they're ineffective. 

So what we didn't provide guidance or clear guidance on was the additional funding, the COLA. And so we kind of left it up to the consortia to figure that out. And what happened when you don't provide guidance? We had a couple instances where members were voting down COLAs or voting up COLAs, or voting against other members against COLAs. So that became problematic. 

So this year, we provided joint guidance from CDE and the Chancellor's Office, that the COLA is for everyone. And so everyone gets that COLA, provided that they're a member in good standing, meaning that they're following their plan and they haven't dropped out, or they didn't meet one of those criteria in the 84914 ed code. 

So if we did get the COLA, it's to 2.29%, or $12.3 million, or $12.333 million. And so if you're trying to figure that out, that's the actual amount. The new base would reset us to $550,897,000. And all members are eligible for COLA. It's based on a proportionate percentage from last year's CFAD. And you can't exclude, or vote to exclude, or prevent a member from receiving funding unless they meet the criteria under 84914. And I think that's the next slide. Can we go to the next slide? 

Yeah, so here it is. So let me just move this chat over a little bit. So as you can see, there's those three areas. You know, the member no longer wishes to provide services consistent with the plan, the adult ed plan. The member cannot provide services that address the needs identified in the plan, and the member has been consistently ineffective. So this works in your favor if you're changing kind of the way your consortia sets up. 

I know some consortia have pots of money that they keep in the consortia level that they think about liquidating, or they're going to move that pot to another member. And so if the member no longer wishes to provide those types of services, then that's your ed code, 84914(A), that would allow you to change your structure and maybe do something differently with the COLA. 

But if that member wants that COLA, unless you meet these three criteria, you can't really take it away from them. So I think this came up the last time we did that. So let's see if there's any questions in the chat regarding 84914 or COLA before we move on. 

OK, so-- OK. Kim, I'll have to respond to you separately because I don't have the ability to type. Maybe you could email me that. Anybody else have a question about 84914 or the COLA? It's difficult for me to type, but I could verbalize the response. Oh, here's-- no. OK, so it's all clear, I guess. 

So I guess there's a couple of different scenarios. One, if we get the COLA, here's how people can and can't get COLAs. Everybody's supposed to get the COLA, but if you're changing your structure and the member no longer wishes to provide services connected with the plan, you can move that money around and change that COLA amount. Or, if the member cannot provide services that adjust the needs in the adult ed plan, or if they have been ineffective. 

If that member doesn't meet that criteria and they still want the COLA, then you can't not give them the COLA. You can't vote and say sorry, 4 to 3, you lose. No, they've got to get the COLA. So Kristen says, do consortia identify that they are applying ed code in the CFAD narrative? Wonder where we identify that allocations are reducing. 

So a couple of things, Kristen, I would do. I would put that in the NOVA CFAD summary, where they said, how did you go about this process? And then I would also contact me at the CAEP office, and let me know which member is being reduced below their prior year amount. Because remember, I have to factor that in into the inter-agency agreement. And I have to tell CDE how much that member is getting or getting less. 

Because I'm assuming that they're getting the same amount in the prior year if we lose the COLA. And so I'm going to go with that unless you tell me otherwise. Otherwise, it's going to delay their funding. And last year, people didn't get their funding until January. We don't want that to happen. We want a miracle to happen that the funding goes out in August like it's normally supposed to. 

Let's see. OK, then we had a question. Does this only apply to the COLA? So 84914 can apply to any situation with fundings. It doesn't have to necessarily apply to the COLA. But since the COLA is the increased-- I mean, let's say we didn't have a COLA. And a member no longer wished to provide services consistent with the adult ed plan. You can reduce their funds for whatever the consortia agreed upon if they're saying they're no longer wish to provide services. Maybe they drop out so you have to reallocate all their funds. 

So this isn't EC-- ed code 84914 is not technically related to COLA, but we are using it for the COLA. But it could apply to any circumstance, if that makes sense. So this could be any year where we get maybe the same kind of funding as we did in the prior year. But you have members that are no longer wishing, or they can't do it. Or if the consortia came up with some kind of ineffective methodology and they provided services that didn't help. 

OK, so-- and then Bob says, EC 84914 applies to more than the COLA. Correct, yes. And then Todd says, or if the consortia memberships that serves an agency is not complying to 84914? 

Correct. All right, so I think we've-- I hope we have a good understanding of COLA, the May revise, and ed code 84914. That was my goal with these slides. Any other questions before we move on? OK, let's move on to the next slide. We just got one under the-- I have one service provider agency that is reducing services while others are increasing services. The scenario doesn't fit neatly into EC 84914, but the agency agreed not to take the COLA to give to the other two agencies. 

So, I mean, really, it's your call. If you're running the consortia and the provider is reducing services, technically, you know, that would be meeting that criteria in 84914. So it's really up to the consortia how they want to look at that. Because the state isn't the one that enforces it. It's a consortia decision. So you'd have to take that into consideration. 

And so Annabel says, what is the definition of reasonable intervention regarding ineffectiveness? So that hasn't really been defined, but it's the same reasonableness that we have with our allowable costs. Reasonable means within reason. So you would have to show us that you've done some kind of intervention. Is it reasonable? I guess that's up for the state to decide, if we're called upon to make that determination. 

And so we don't really have any more definition on what a reasonable intervention is yet. So that's something I would dialogue with us, if you were going down that path. And then Kelly said, our COLA and CFAD is in and approved. Great. Thank you. So Bob adds, the key is the whole governing body of the consortia must approve the CFAD, right? Correct. It must be certified in NOVA. 

I know we had one instance last year, where the consortia followed their bylaws, and then the member refused to certify and the CFAD because they didn't like the decision. And so we checked the bylaws. We looked at the minutes and the consortia did follow their bylaws. So we certified as a state for that consortia. But you're correct. The whole governing body the consortia must approve the CFAD. 

OK. So public meetings. I'm not going to get too much into this. The governor suspended some of the Brown Act as far as virtual meetings. But you still have to follow a lot of the other Brown Act regs, and as well as the CAEP regs for public meetings. And so I don't think that when the Brown Act was quote unquote "suspended" that everything was suspended. You still have to have public meetings, they just are in a virtual environment. And then, I can't really get too much into that because everybody-- each district interprets Brown Act a little differently. 

And so I would defer back to your local legal counsel, your district legal counsel on Brown Act, because they're going through this as well with their board meetings. And so that's where if there are questions, I would defer back to your local district on that. But if you did have questions, here's the executive order. And next slide, please. 

OK, so here are the FAQs that we've been getting. So first question. Can I wait until June to file my CFAD? we said, we understand it may be tough to schedule a public meeting. But late filing will delay the processing of the CFAD funding for 2021. And the late filing is because of that interagency agreement. So remember, I'm taking your CFAD information. I'm plugging it into an exhibit in an inner agency agreement that tells CDE how much money I give to a K-12 district, a county office, or a K-12 or county office fiscal agent. 

So that information is critical to get out to those entities by August. The last few years, we didn't get it out till January. So we know this is going to be a tough year, and so let's all work together to get those CFADs certified by May 2, get that information to me. If we do have a May revise and we do lose the COLA, let's continue working together to get the right information in that interagency agreement so there won't be any slowdown of processing of that disbursement. Because our goal this year, despite all the craziness, we do want to get the money to the district on time. 

OK. So next question was, what if my consortia is a fiscal agent? Do I have to submit the CFAD by May 2? And even though you have a fiscal agent, yes, we still need to know this allocation amount because it does include the verification of fiscal structure, confirming the public process. I know it's not as critical because we know the amount that's going to go out to the fiscal agent. 

But if you delay on certifying your CFAD, it also delays on you getting your budget and your annual plan, and other things that are connected to that CFAD. So I would delay on-- I would not delay on submitting your CFAD, even if you have a fiscal agent. So let's see, there's a question here from Lonze. I'm going to try to move my screen over. Lonze says, the governor's order indicates that there needs to be a physical location available for public comment. Other legal interpretations indicate that this is not necessary, that the meetings can be completely online. What is the CAEP office position on that? 

So Lonze, I would say that's a local decision. And so if your district determines what is necessary for public comment and what are the guidelines as they interpret for online public meetings, we would defer to that local decision. And so, sorry, can't give you a state perspective on that. But we would say local decision on that, and we would support that. Hopefully, that helped you. OK, next slide, please. 

OK, here's another couple of gems. What if my consortia wants to hold money into a consortia pot for projects? So we do have several people like-- or consortia like that. They like to hold the money at the consortia. The only problem with that is if things-- we've had some situations where if the consortia changes, sometimes, that member thinks that that pot is for their purposes, not for the consortia. And technically, if you put it in the CFAD, that becomes part of their base. And so that the base is the prior year. 

And so what happens is next year at this time, you could say, oh, we want to reallocate the consortia pot to our other members, and that member might say, no. That's part of my prior year. You can't touch that. So what I would do is because of the CAEP ed code, we would advise you to create the project pot after the CFAD and use the allocation amendment process. 

I know that's difficult if you're direct funded, but I mean, just keep in mind, kind of the consequences if you provide your member a increase in their base via the CFAD, that kind of locks them in. So just hopefully, you go in knowing if you're doing that, and doing it at a consortia pot for that member, providing extra funds, you have to be really careful of how you set that up. 

And then, because you're locked in, then you to be careful of-- you know, if you're within ed code to change that. So let's see. The other question is, I have a new member. How will they receive funding? So let me move my thing around. 

So if the consortia wants to fund new members that have no prior year funding, they should use the allocation amendment process after the CFAD is submitted. Because we don't really have a pot of funding for new members. When the money comes down to the consortia, that's your funding. And so if everybody is earmarked the same amount as the prior year, then there's really no money for new members. 

So one of your members would have to step up and say, OK. I'll give up X amount of dollars for this new member. Some people are trying to use the COLA like that. You've got to make sure everybody gets their COLA, but you can always do an allocation amendment off to the process to fund that new member. And maybe you don't want to put the new member in the CFAD because the first year, maybe they're not very good or maybe they're flaky, and maybe you don't want to lock them into a amount that they're going to get every year. Maybe you should try them out for a few years doing the allocation amendment process. And then, if they work out, you could make them a stable member, just a couple thoughts. You don't have to necessarily do it that way, but just be careful on this. 

All right, let's see if there's any questions here. Let's see here. Let me try to-- my screen's a little crowded today. OK, next slide, please. So we had Lonze's question. What is the timeline for 2021 planning? When will the annual plan template be made available? So Alicia, in NOVA, as soon as your CFAD is submitted, you can start working on your annual plan. 

So the annual plan template is already in there, and so those are due August 15. So once you complete your CFAD, then you're able to work on your annual plan and put your objectives things. And that's due August 15. And then the consortia members can work on their plans as it relates to the annual plan, and also submit their budgets related to the CFAD. So the CFAD is the key because the CFAD allocates the funds. And then once you get your CFAD in, then you can submit your annual plan. So together, the CFAD kind of triggers the budget. The annual plan triggers the member plans, and that allows you to go forward, you know, for Q1 reporting in 2021. 

So those are all connected and NOVA sequential. So if you don't have your CFAD, you can't move on to your annual plan, or you can't do your budget, or you can't do your member plan, or you can't submit Q1. So it's all logically sequential. I see there was a question down here. Oh, OK. So let's see. 

Kelly said, could we subcontract? Yeah, you could do that. You'd have to follow your district's policies and procedures. Subcontracting is a little differently, but that is a way you could do it in addition to an allocation amendment, but the subcontract would not show up in NOVA. That would be an object code in your budget, which might be-- I mean, depending on the risk factor, it could be a safer alternative. It's really what you want to do with it. 

Sumelia says, have consortia funded new members, like taking another member's funding to give? So usually, that's voluntary. I haven't seen anybody take another member's funding to give to a new member. What I have seen is some member says, yeah. I'll give up 50,000, or I'll give up-- or they pool it and they give it to the new member. But I haven't seen anybody taking money away. But it has been done on the allocation amendment for members voluntarily providing extra funds. 

So Bob says, subcontract in a sense would be an amendment to shift funds for one member to another. That wouldn't impact next year's base funding. Right. So it'd just be an object code in that member's funding. You just have to deal with whatever the policies and procedures are of that district and their subcontracting. Some districts are a lot easier to deal with subcontracts than others, so buyer beware on that one. 

And then Dana says, when should we do the amendment if we need to adjust? So as soon as your-- Veronica can get into this, but as soon as your CFAD, I think, is submitted, you could do the allocation amendment. I think once that's certified by everyone, that then it becomes, you know, you have the ability to move the money around. And maybe Veronica could touch on that. I don't know if you have to have your annual plan in as well to do allocation amendment, but we could check with her on that. 

OK, and I think Tap says that's correct to Dana, I hope. OK. And I think that's it. So I'm going to turn it over to Veronica. Remember, I have keyboard issues, so I won't be able to respond to too many questions. But I can-- I'll be back on in a little bit after Veronica is done, then I could answer some of your questions. All right, let's turn it over to Veronica. 

Thank you, Neil. Is everyone able to see the home screen of NOVA at this time? Are you able to see it, Neil? 

Yes. Yes, I am. 

OK, great. I'll keep moving along. All right, now I will go through the CFAD process using one of our consortium. And I am in a safe environment. So the changes that I will make to this consortium's information will not be saved. So if Allan Hancock is on today, just know that anything that I do here will not change your information permanently. 

So I have just logged on, as you will have all seen. And I have gotten to the CFAD process. And the first step in the CFAD process is your fiscal declaration. So this is where you will decide whether or not your consortium will continue on with whatever you decided for the 2019-'20 program year, so whether you were a fiscal agent or a direct-funded consortium. 

However, here is where you were able to change your disbursement method. And this is the only opportunity that you'll be able to change for the 2020-2021 program year. So currently, Allan Hancock, they are a direct-funded consortium. However, arbitrarily speaking, let's say they decided that they wanted to go fiscal agent. This is the opportunity that they will have to do so. So the first question is, do you plan to continue with this election for 2020 to 2021? And I am going to select no, because we are going to move to direct-funded. I'm a student with a fiscal agent. 

So I select no, and then this note is going to come up. And it's going to say, you are changing how funds are dispersed to your consortium and its members. Please acknowledge that you intend to change the type. And so, yes. I am sure this is what I would like to do. So here, it's going to ask you about your disbursement method. 

So the first question is, who will be the fiscal agent? So they have two agencies within their consortium. So we're going to select Allan Hancock joint CCD as our fiscal agent. And then the NOVA system is going to ask for you to explain why you chose this-- 

Veronica? I'm sorry. I'm not seeing the screen change, either. I think-- I think it's frozen on this slide. 

OK. Let me stop sharing and go back to sharing again. 

OK. 

Thank you for that. So I'm to share my screen again. 

Yeah, sorry about that. 

No worries. And then I'm going to go where I was previously. How about now? 

Do something on the screen. 

OK. 

Yeah, that's better. I can see your cursor moving. 

For our UK and NOVA? 

Yeah. I'm seeing your cursor move. Yeah, so that's a lot better. 

OK, great. Great. Sorry about that, everyone. I'll go back to where I was previously so that you all can see where I was, since there was some interruption. So I am on fiscal declaration. And we're talking about the disbursement method. So I selected no, that this consortium did not want to continue on with direct-funded for the 2020-2021 program year. 

And then there is a warning that comes up, or an acknowledgment making sure that this is the change that you truly want to do. So yes, I do want to change the fiscal agent. And then here, I'm going to select who my fiscal agent is going to be. As I mentioned before, Allan Hancock College Consortium only had two members. So they have the community college as well as Lompoc Unified. 

We're going to select the community college as our fiscal agent. And then NOVA is now going to ask for justification as to why you are changing your consortium's disbursement method. So here, just explain in 3,500 characters or fewer, why you plan to switch from direct-funded to fiscal agent. 

So I'm just going to type in an arbitrary sentence, all right? And then I'm going to scroll down. The next is to provide a narrative justifying how the planned allocations are consistent with the annual adult education plan, which is based on the three year plan. So basically, you're going to allude to more so an executive summary of your annual plan for the 2020-2021 program year. 

So I'm just going to type in a sentence so that I can move along. And here, Changes, we're going to keep this unchecked because we are making changes to our disbursement method. If we were making no changes, we would select no changes here. And then here, a change description. And then we're going to continue on. 

So I have changed from direct funded to fiscal agent. I have identified whom my fiscal agent is going to be, a member within my consortium. I have provided a justification as to why I am changing to fiscal agent. I'm providing a narrative, more so an executive summary of my annual plan for the 2020-2021 program year. I'm going to keep the changes box unchecked because I did make changes, and then a narrative about changing fiscal agent. 

So now that I've checked all of that and I see that I am completed here, I'm going to go to Next. And so here is where you can kind of clean up your member agencies and certifiers. You can also add a new agency if your consortium has taken on a new agency. So here, for Allan Hancock CCD, here are all of the member representatives, their telephone numbers. If any of these members are no longer a part of the agency, this is your opportunity to delete them from the agency. 

Now remember, if you delete them from the agency, you are deleting them from the consortium. However, they are not deleted from NOVA. So if they are participating in another program, such as strong workforce or something like that, they are able to still access NOVA, they just will not be able to access the consortium's information. 

Here's your opportunity to add a certifier. And then here's an opportunity to acknowledge if this is going to become non-allocated and will be a voting member only. So in essence, this agency will no longer receive an application. However, they are still voting, so they are still approving your annual plan. They'll still approve the CFAD, and they will still approve any allocation amendments. But they will not have to complete any fiscal reports or will not have to complete a budget or work plan, because they do not receive an allocation from the consortium. 

If you're going to add a certifier, this-- you'll click that button. And if they are an existing NOVA user, then you can simply type in their name or their email address. So let's say, I would like to become a part of the Allan Hancock Consortium. Then I would select my information, which for some reason, is not coming up. But let's say-- oh, here I am. 

So since I am an existing NOVA user, I would just select myself. If I was not a NOVA user, then I would invite whomever the person is by typinig in their first name, last name, and their work email. And then they will receive an email prompting them to create a username and password for NOVA if they were not an already existing NOVA user. 

I'm going to cancel here, and I'm going to cancel this. And then, if you scroll down to the bottom of the page, this is where you can add a member agency. So you will check the member agency box, then you will select the member type. So again, to be a member of CAEP, you have to be a district, a college, a community, a student accounting office of education, or an ROC/ROP. And you can also select if you're an elementary school, unifying school district, high school school district, workforce development board or other. 

And then you will type in the institution's name here. And then again, you will type whether or not they are a non-allocated voting member only. And here is a small description. So the member representative for is not allocated. Member agency will be required to approve the consortium documents such as the CFAD, annual plan, and allocation amendments, as I had just mentioned previously. 

So that is the process that you will go through. If you were to add a member agency. So I checked everything. Everyone's correct here, so I'm going to select Next. And then here are the member allocations. So we have been receiving questions regarding why there is a negative number here for 2019-'20. And as Neil had mentioned before, we did receive a reduction in COLA after the CFADs were submitted during the May revise. 

And so since the CFAD cannot be changed, this negative or reduction in the COLA amount, it stayed on the CFAD. However, all members were instructed to complete an allocation amendment. So for those of you who may have not already checked your CFAD, if you see this negative number for your reduction in COLA from last year, that is why. 

However, you can check, and I'll show you exactly where you can check to make sure that your consortium completed an allocation amendment to account for that negative debt reduction in the COLA. So for 2020-2021, these numbers are pre-populated from the 2019-'20 allocations. These numbers include the COLA at the reduced amount. So it doesn't include the full COLA, it includes the COLA at the reduced amount. 

If you scroll down and you look at total allocated to members and total CAEP funds, the total allocated to members, that's the number-- I'm using 2019-'20 as an example. That's the number that included the full COLA. So that was before the reduction. However, the total CAEP funds, that's the number that you should definitely pay attention to, because that's the number, for example, in 2019-'20, that's the number of the total allocation after the reduction in COLA. 

So as I mentioned before, your 2020 to '21 program, your numbers or allocations are pre-populated from the 2019-'20 at the reduced COLA amount. So your job now, if-- assuming that there were no changes in members' base allocations, your job now is to distribute the new COLA amount, which for this consortium, is the $35,501. 

So I'd allocate some simple calculations-- excuse me. This is not to say that this consortium's funding formula. But this is just what the allocations told me based on what they did last year. So Allan Joint Community College District, they received 43% of the total allocation. So what I did was I timed the total remaining by that amount to give them their total allocation for the 2020-2021 program year. And so they would receive $744,857 for this program year. And then Lompoc Unified received 57% of the total consortium allocation. 

So once we distribute the COLA for this year, they will have a new total allocation of $987,369. And once I add those numbers in, their total remaining is now zero, because I have allocated the new COLA to these two members based on what I presume as their funding formula from last year. So now, their total allocated to members, this number was increased. Before, it was $1,696,725. It has now increased to $1,732,226, which is also their total CAEP funds, which now, their remaining amount is zero. So they have distributed their allocations for 2020-2021. 

Now this is just for me to demonstrate how the system works. This is not their actual numbers. So I just want to make sure that everyone understands that. Now that their total remaining number is zero, I'm going to select Next to preview their CFAD. So the first section is a summary of their fiscal declaration. So it enclosed their consortium name, their funding channel, whom the funding agent-- or, excuse me-- the fiscal agent is, since they changed from direct-funded to fiscal agent this year, my made-up justification narrative and changes. 

And then below are all of the members' allocations for this year. The total remaining is zero. However, last year, they still have the negative number because of the May revise and the reduction in COLA. If this happens again this year, we will have a negative number here as well. And then we have the member agencies, and then certification insurances. 

So the primary contract who is completing the CFAD for the consortium, it's very important that you read these assurances, because this is basically saying that you were certifying, according ed code, that all information in here is correct. And so here are the insurances, public meeting assurances, reporting requirements assurances, and then you would select Submit. 

Once you select Submit, the member representatives of the consortium will receive an email that you have completed the CFAD. So I don't have any comments. I can leave that blank. This is an optional screen, but I'm going to select OK. And then once I do that, all of these member representatives will receive an email stating that the CFAD has been completed by the primary contact, and now it's time for them to either approve or reject the CFAD. And that is all that I have. I'm going to go to the chat to see if there are any questions for me. 

So Veronica, let me-- I'll help you out there, because there's a few questions. So there were some questions about a summary of our annual plan that's not due until August. So what it is, is-- I looked it up. It says, please provide a narrative justifying how the planned allocations are consistent with the annual adult ed plan, which is based on your three year plan. 

So all you have to do is put in maybe three or four sentences to show-- because this is in a statute that when we give out the funding, you're supposed to show how the planned allocations are consistent with your annual plan and your three year plan. And so all it is is a justification showing how there are consistent. So it's not really a summary of your annual plan, it just shows how things are connected. And you could probably use what you used last year, unless something has changed. 

OK, so next question. So Kathy says, some of these are for you, Veronica. But let me just go through them. If a member is not being funded, however, they have carryover from the previous year, do we still mark them as a non-funded member? So Veronica, I would say, you don't want to give them funding if they're not-- don't put them in the CFAD. They can still use that carryover even if they're not in the CFAD. Is that correct, Veronica? Yes, that's correct. And they will still be able to complete their fiscal reports, even though they're not funded for this year. 

Right. So don't confuse the carryover as something you have to include in the CFAD. The CFAD only relates to the allocation for 2021. So let's say they're bringing in $100,000 into 2021. You don't put that in the CFAD. That's carryover that NOVA will take care of on its own. All carryover rolls over into the NOVA system. Veronica, anything else to add on that? 

No, that's it. 

OK. Uh, Kelly says, the allocation amendment messes up her historical documentation. Veronica, when you get questions about-- because we did the allocation amendment and it does show the red. And it does kind of show that it changes that CFAD. So you have the CFAD, then you have to do a revised one. How are people trying to-- if they're using this as historical documentation, what advice would you give them on trying to keep their record straight? 

I would tell members to pull their allocation amendment document. So if I go-- and please let me know if you're able to see my screen. 

Yeah, I can see it. 

So I'm going to go to the allocation amendment section in NOVA and view my Amendment history. And then you can pull this document, which will then show the allocation amendment from the reduction in COLA. So this could be used as backup to support the reduction in COLA. 

Fantastic. OK, then Perul says, Veronica, are you doing an amendment to bring 1920 to 0? Or maybe that was for somebody else. So when you went through your example, we're not doing any-- that negative will stay there because it's showing the allocation amendment, correct? Or is there a way to make that zero? 

No. So that it's going to stay, because we can't make changes to the CFAD. So that document I just show from the allocation amendment history, that's where you zeroed out the 1920. So you've accounted for the reduction in COLA via the allocation Amendment. 

OK. So for you accounting types, I'm sorry. The negative will still stay there. I know you're probably itching to get rid of that. But it's good documentation to show we did an allocation amendment. Kristen says, to clarify, we will have the full 2.29 COLA to allocate in the CFAD. As of today, the governor's budget hasn't changed. So the governor's budget has a 2.29% COLA that was included in the preliminary allocations for CAEP. And that's what we're going with. So that's what's due on May 2. 

Now the revised could tell us otherwise, but because we're not privy to those conversations and the legislature isn't back yet, we're going to have to wait and see, unfortunately. So there could be a revision. There might not be. You never know. But for now, if we're going with May 2, we're going to go with that 2.29% COLA. And they will have to react to whatever the May revise presents us. 

All right. So Marianne-- oh, OK. So Marianne, is it OK for me to respond to you? Because you sent to me privately, or maybe I should wait. Jodi says, do approvers see the assurances? How can we share the assurances with member reps? I think it's-- Veronica, do you have a good response for that one, Jodi's question? 

You know, Jodi, I'm going to make a note of that because I'm not completely sure if member representatives see those assurances. I'm going to have to contact the programmers to see. And if they are not shown, how can we get that information to member representatives as well? So I'll make a note of that and get back to you. I'll get back to everyone. 

OK. And then-- OK, so Marianne said, she said, do we need to have board approval before we submit the CFAD? So what happens is your consortia board, if that's what you're talking about, when they get together for that public meeting, they'll be the ones approving that CFAD, having that CFAD discussion, and approving that in a public discussion. 

Now if you're talking about your local board, like at your school district or your college district, when they appoint that member rep, that member rep is representing that district at the consortia public meeting. So those decisions are final. They can't go back to another board. So when the consortia approves it and members certify it and make that decision, that's the final decision. It doesn't have to go back to another board before you submit it. Hopefully, that was your question. But it does have to have some type of consortia board approval before you certify. Otherwise, there wouldn't be any public discussion or decision making going on. 

And then Nancy says, if you're doing Zoom meetings, you can screen share the assurances as you are discussing this with your governing body. You can also print from NOVA and scan share with governing body members. Oh, OK. So Veronica, that's one thing that Nancy's doing. But we'll check with our programmers. I was-- I heard-- from our programmers, it was my understanding that each member sees those assurances and has to, when they certify it, have to agree to that. So we'll double check on that. But thank you for bringing that up and thank you for sharing some different ways of doing that. 

So Yasmine says, I have a question about in kind now that we are remote. Should we still include what would have been rate amount for spaces or not for when submitting hours and funds used for 1920 on your program area reporting? Oh. Well, we'll probably have some guidance coming out for the-- we have the estimates due in September, and then the finals due in December for the program hours and program expenses. And we'll definitely have some guidance on that. As far as in kind, Yasmine, if you could email me, I'd like to have further conversation about how that's impacting you, given the current state of affairs. 

So I'd like to follow up on that. And I'm going to copy your question and save it, because we still have to develop guidance for the program area reporting. Let me just save that question. OK, and Janice says, now with the governor's release of temp funds, can we use CAEP funds direct to students? 

I'm not clear what the governor's release of temp funds are. CAEP funds are still restricted. We haven't been provided any direction to use CAEP funds otherwise. The fiscal management guide is still in effect for allowable uses. So if you want to email me offline, I haven't heard anything about release of temp funds. So Jodie says, that's what I was getting at. Members need to see what they are agreeing to, although the lead certifies. We'll check that out, Jodi. Could be a flaw in the programming, but we'll check it out. 

And then Kim says, they're all certifying member representatives or all member representatives certifying members, if that makes sense. Yeah. So there should be one member rep that does the certifying. And Veronica, can you explain how that hierarchy works in NOVA? Because there might be several people under a member. But I think it's only one gets to certified. Is that correct? 

Yes, that's correct. That is the first person that is listed on the list of member representatives. 

So if Kim wanted to make sure that we have the right certifying official, she could go into NOVA, and if that person is at the top, then it's the right person. If that person is not at the top, how would she change that? 

So you would have to essentially remove everyone else and get the person that you want to be the certifying authority for the agency to the top, and then you would add everyone else back in. And I can show how that is offline if you'd like, but that's basically how you would do it. It's not the most efficient process, but it works. 

OK, great. And then Bob said, annual plans submitted in August, members must enter budgets with reference to alignment with annual plan, right? Yes, timeline for that. So I don't have the due dates in front of me, but Veronica will correct me. So the way it works, August 15, annual plan is due. And then Veronica, is it September 30 is when the budgets or the annual plan and budgets are due by each member for the-- 

I'm pulling up the due dates now, and I'll put the link into the chat. But it's October-- it's October 30, is when the budget and work plan is certified by the consortium. 

So then, that must mean the member has probably 30 days back. 

Right. 

So the member would have to submit by September 30. 

Right. 

So the way it works, annual plan mid August, member submits their plan and budget by the end of September, and then the consortia certifies by the end of October. And then you have your first Q1 submitted-- I think it's December 1-- and then the consortia certifies it by the end of December, if I recollect. 

Kristin says, it would be helpful if the programmers could make it easier to rank member reps field fiscal agents contacts in NOVA. OK, we'll pass that along. And then, oh, there are the due dates if you want to reference that. So Veronica, did you have a-- you had another process you wanted to show in this, right? 

Right, but there are some slides that I believe you were going to cover prior to. So you want to go back to the slide deck? 

OK. I kind of forgot what those slides were. 

No worries. So is everyone able to see the slides? 

Not yet. 

OK. So let me stop doing share and then pull up our slide deck. How about now? 

Yeah, I see the CFAD process slide. And now we're skipping ahead. 

OK. There we are. 

OK. So these are probably just some disclaimers about the allocation amendment processes. And then Nicole is going to walk us through. So as we said before, it's a reallocation process in NOVA after the CFAD has been certified. Just like the CFAD, allocation amendments still have to be approved by all members in NOVA. It doesn't affect your prior year allocation, and it doesn't impact future allocations. So when you do an allocation amendment, it just impacts that year. It doesn't affect your prior year. It doesn't affect your future years. 

So if you move $100,000 from one member to another during this year using an allocation amendment, it doesn't re-bench it for next year or do anything like that. It's just an in-year one time allocation of funds. So it's an easy process to do. If you have a member with too much carryover or you have a member in need that needs funding, or you have a new member you want to try out, it gives you the flexibility without affecting your base. And so it's a process that I would recommend using rather than trying to change your CFAD around and impacting your base funding. 

Like I said, just an in-year reallocation of funds. Some consortia have bylaws to support this process. So you might want to look at that. If you don't have bylaws, you might want to create some bylaws around the allocation amendment process. And to impact future allocations, so if you do want to impact your future allocations, your members must fall under the three criteria that we looked at before under EC 84914. 

So Kelly says, but is the base pre-COLA last year, or is the base our allocation plus COLA last year? So your base is what you put in the CFAD last year for 1920. So it's not your-- because things could happen. You could have said-- you could have invoked EC 84914 and reduced a member. So whatever that CFAD says and you certify as a consortia and all the members agree, that's your prior year base. 

So when we go back to 1920 and look at your CFAD or your revised CFAD because we reduced the COLA-- so it'd be the revised CFAD is the prior year base that we're looking at. And so that would be base allocation last year plus the reduced COLA and whatever was certified by the members and the consortia. Does that makes sense? Veronica, is that how you see it? 

Yes. 

OK. All right, next slide, please. OK, now we're back to Veronica. She's going to show us how this process works. 

OK. I am back in NOVA on Allan Hancock's screen. Does everyone see it? 

Yes. 

Great. Thank you. So I'm going to go through the allocation amendment process, which is a pretty simple process. I'm going to scroll down to Allocations. And here, you can start an allocation amendment. As Neil may have alluded to previously, you can do this at any time throughout the program year. So if we're approaching the end of a funding cycle and you would like to allocate moneys from one member to the next because a member may not be able to spend all of the monies prior to the expiration date, you're able to do so with whatever program years are still available. 

So I'm going to start an amendment process for 2019-'20, since the CFAD has not been certified by this consortium to 2020 and 2021 funding, or allocations are not yet available. So we're going to just play with the 2019-'20. So I'm going to start the amendment process, and it's going to ask me-- it's going to tell me that to amend the allocations for this program year, I will need to follow the workflow steps. And once submitted, the changes will need to be approved by member representatives. 

So I understand that, and I'm going to continue here. And then my first step will be to go through my member agencies and certifiers. So again, you want to make sure that your member agency-- excuse me-- your member agencies and certifiers are up to date. We also use this information to contact people within the consortium. So you want to make sure that this information stays up to date. 

So our member representatives are still valid. So I'm going to just scroll down. And then, again, if you would like to add a new member agency, you are able to do so here. This is actually new prior to, I want to say, this fiscal year, this 2019-'20 program year. You were only able to add new member agencies during a CFAD process. But now, this CAEP office, they are allowing consortia to add new members mid program year, at the end of the program year, whenever it's needed. So you're able to go through the same process by adding a new member. 

So I'm verifying that everything here is correct. So I'm going to go to Next. And then my member allocations. So whatever the situation may be, if the allocation amendment is approved by the consortium, then you were able to come in here and do the allocation amendments. And so let's just say, arbitrarily speaking, I am going to reduce Allan Hancock joint CCD by $50,000 and give it to Lompoc Unified. Well, let's just make the numbers easy, and let's just say $24,000. 

So they are going to be reduced to $700,060. And as you can see here, I have reduced their amount by $24,000. You can also see down here, the total remaining is now up to $24,000. So in order to submit this allocation amendment, I would have to make sure the total remaining is at zero. So I reduce them by $24,000. Now I'm going to add 24,000 to Lompoc. Excuse me. I have to do some simple calculations because I can't think of this off the top of my head right now. One second. 

All right. So their new number is going to be $993,386. And once I do that, you will see that the adjustment now, I have increased their allocation by $24,000. And now my total remaining is back down to zero. So the system will allow me to submit this allocation amendment because my numbers are zeroed out. 

So I'm going to select Next here. And then Preview. This is just going to show me what the fiscal declaration information that was entered during the CFAD process. So of course, the consortium name, their funding channel, the justification. They didn't have anything at that time. A narrative, and then they didn't have any changes during the CFAD process. 

And then it's going to show me the changes that I've made, so my adjustments here. And my total remaining is zero. It's going to show me my member agencies and whom the certifiers are for the member agencies. Again, certification insurances are going to be listed here. And then we are going to scroll up and submit. 

Optional, if you'd like to submit comments, you are able to do so. And once you press OK, then the members will be notified that you have completed an allocation amendment for the consortium. 

And one other thing. I kind of mentioned it before, but once this is approved by all of the members-- right now it's saying I'm pending approval. So once every member either approve or rejects, if a member rejects, then you can either cancel the allocation amendment if the consortium decides that they no longer want to go through with it, or you have to change the dollar amount by at least $1 and then re-submit the allocation amendment for it to go through. 

And once it has gone through and everyone has approved, then you can view the amendment history here. And so as I mentioned before, if anyone's looking for backup documentation as to why the CFAD or when the CFAD was reduced, and how you accounted for the reduction in COLA from last year, you're able to do so by clicking on this view PDF. And you're able to look at this information for any allocation amendments that have been completed for the consortium throughout the program year or a prior program year. So as you can see, Allan Hancock thus far has completed two allocation amendments. So they're able to review their report history here. 

All right. That's all I have for allocation amendments. I will now go to the chat. Or Neil, if you can let me know if there are any questions from you. 

There were just a couple. 

OK. 

So Sherry Watkins was saying, to clarify, if one member chooses to give another member a portion of their allocation from 2021, it would open up the CFAD, and each member would have to re-certify. I don't think that's what we're saying with the allocation amendment. We're saying the allocation amendment would be done after the CFAD. Correct? 

That's correct. The CFAD, once it's certified, it will not open up any more. So any changes or any transactions from member agency to member agency will be done via the allocation amendment. 

Unless they wanted to change their base for cause invoking ed code 84914, you could change that in the CFAD. But we would recommend if there weren't any cause that use the allocation amendment process and do it after the CFAD is certified. Is that correct, Veronica? 

Yes, that's correct. 

OK. And then Nancy, you might want to-- I don't know if you want to take this offline, but she says, our CFAD has been certified by all agencies. When I accessed our consortia CFAD today, I noticed that my name was listed as the person certifying for three of the agencies. However, I was not the person who actually certified. Each oversight committee member certified for their agency. Can this be corrected? 

I think what Nancy might be talking about is if she's the consortia lead, even though all members have certified, she still has to certify for the consortia. Is that correct, Veronica? 

Yes. She still certifies for the consortium. I definitely have to look at that to see exactly what she's talking about. 

OK. I'm going to have to plug in my-- stop sharing my video. But I'm going to have to plug in my laptop. I'm running out of battery. So why don't you keep going, Veronica? 

OK. Let me scroll up in the chat box. So I don't think I'm-- OK. So I see from Janice, need your help since my full account has been remaining so I can't certify. OK. Yes, Janice, email me separately, and we will look at exactly what you are talking about. And I saw something from Jodi. 

And I think this is a question for Neil. How does that impact expenditure recording? 

Yeah, I took care of that one. 

OK. And I think that's all that I am seeing. 

OK. So we have about 10 minutes. What's next? 

I'm going to go back to the PowerPoint. And we've gone through the allocation amendment process. And then here, we had how to add a member. We've gone over that. A day consortium lead change, we've gone over that. And that's-- well, no. We have not gone over that. So I can quickly go over that part. 

In the training resources for NOVA, I think there are some YouTube videos. And of course, we have TAP. Maybe before we close out, you can just go over those last two after you do the consortia lead change. 

OK. I'm going to go back into NOVA and presume that we have a new consortium lead. And it's the same process of adding members, where you would go to the consortium contacts. And you would add contact here. And again, invite them if they do not have an existing NOVA account, or you can pull them up here by entering their name or their email address. And then you will assign them a responsibility. 

So the only two are primary contact or a physical contact. So a consortium lead will, in theory, be a primary contact, meaning they have full rights, full access to the consortium. They can add member agencies. They can add member representatives. They are the ones who will complete the CFAD and certify so that-- or, excuse me, submit it so that the agency representatives can certify it. They'll complete the-- they will approve the budget and work plan, et cetera. 

And then fiscal contacts, they have the right to enter in fiscal information. However, they cannot approve. So they can't submit or certify any of the documents in NOVA. And then once you do that, you would add the contact. And again, here is where you want to make sure that the actual consortium lead or the certifying authority for the consortium is listed first, because they are the ones who will receive the certification rights. 

And again-- and I'm sorry, it's a clunky system. We'll definitely look into the potential of making it more efficient. However, if the primary contact is not the-- is not listed first, then you'll have to remove everyone by using the Delete button here. And then you would have to add everyone back in once that person is listed first. 

So I'm going to go back to the PowerPoint. And-- 

I'll take-- I'll answer this last question. So Jennifer said, if the fiscal agent is allocating carryover from the prior year, would the allocation of amendment be submitted on the prior year or the current year? So the way NOVA works, it's always operating in the current year. So if you're moving around prior year money, it just sees it as first in, first out. So in the current year, it just totals up all your prior year carryover. 

So let's say you have-- from '18-'19, you have a million dollars carryover. In 1920, you have another million dollars. It'll just show-- and then you get an allocation for '21 of 2 million. It'll just show your budget for 2021 is 4 million. So you'd want to do that in the current year. You don't go back into prior years. It won't let you anyway, so anything to add on that, Veronica? 

Well, actually, Neil, it does go to prior year. Because the allocation amendment is only for the current year. It doesn't include any carryover. So if-- let's say, because we are going to be expiring the 2018-'19 funds at the end of this year. If you needed to allocate additional monies to another member from the 2018-'19 pot, you would go into the 2018-'19 column to do the allocation amendment. 

All right. Sorry about that. 

No worries. 

Thanks for clarifying that. 

Oh, yeah. Of course. 

OK, then Perul says, how about if you have a new member who is not primary or fiscal? Can we add as a contact only instead of giving them full access? 

Unfortunately, no. We used to have the contact option for their role in NOVA, but that was removed for various reasons. So now we only have the-- for the consortium details, we only have the primary contact or the fiscal contact. 

Yeah, one thing I might add-- and I don't want to get on my soapbox. But if we're going into an era of a little fiscal efficiency, and they are-- and the state budget is in flux and all this, I would look at which members are not offering services. There are some members that get CAEP funds that maybe attend meetings and travel, things like that. 

But I would really look hard at how people are spending their money. Are they offering programs? Are they doing things that move the plan for the consortia along? And so it'd be a good time to start looking at those efficiencies and focus more on the mission of adult ed. And so that would be something I would start now, as you go through this year. Because this is kind of uncharted territory. 

We don't want to repeat kind of the flexibility, if some of you were around in 2007-2008, when we were kind of blindsided by this whole flexibility process. Let's try to see if we can kind of mush all our resources and make sure we're spending efficiently with members that are focused on serving those students in need in our community. So I'll get off the soapbox right now. Go ahead, Veronica. 

OK. So right now, I am typing in the chat, the number of ways that you can familiarize yourself with NOVA on your own. Or you can contact TAP either by using our email address, or you can submit a support request. And that will-- we will definitely help you and provide any assistance that is needed. 

I have also been facilitating onboard sessions with new members or new consortium lead, so that they can become more acclimated with NOVA. If anyone needs a refresher course or if there is a particular area that you would like for me to go over with you, or if you have a question or a problem that you're experiencing in NOVA, and it may be a little easier to just get into the system and see it firsthand and then walk through how to resolve those issues, I am more than happy to jump on Zoom, schedule a meeting and jump on Zoom to resolve those issues. So those are the options that you can use to obtain support as it relates to the NOVA system and fiscal reporting. 

And we have one last question for you, Veronica, from Kristen. So if a member will not be expending all their '18-'19 monies by 12/31/20, but another member would be able to if everyone's agreeable, consortia would make an allocation amendment in '18-'19 CFAD, or just in '18-'19 NOVA? 

So, yeah. It'll be '18-'19 allocation amendment. So you would go to the '18-'19 column and start the allocation amendment there. 

OK. So don't touch the CFAD. You go into the allocation amendment process, right? 

Yes. 

OK. All right, and I think that was our last question. So I'll let you continue on. We have 1 minute. 

OK, that is all that I have for today. Definitely, thank you all for participating and engaging with us as it relates to fiscal reporting. We do have our regional meeting starting on Monday. So if you have not received your invite or you have not registered, please be sure to do so by visiting the California Adult Education website or our registration system. And we look forward to seeing you all. 

If you have any questions that come up, or if you have anything that you would like us to take a look at, definitely feel free to reach out to TAP, and we will be able to provide assistance for you all. That's all. 

Hopefully, this was as good as office hours. We just covered more fiscal stuff today, but we still like to keep in touch with you. And so, like Veronica said, look for upcoming meetings. And I thank Veronica for her expertise, and Holly helping out on the online. So I look forward to talking with some of you next week. And Veronica, anything else? 

No. That's all I have. Thank you all very much, and have a great weekend. Oh. Actually, there's a question that just came in. 

But can we have this as a Zoom meeting even when things go back to normal? Oh. They just like having these meetings. 

We can definitely explore that. 

All right. Thank you, everyone. 

Thank you. Have a great weekend. 

Thank you. 

All right, bye.