Mandilee Gonzales: --are Mayra Diaz, Neil Kelly, Renee Collins, and myself, Mandilee Gonzales. In today's agenda, we're going to go over our outcomes as well as a sequence of the CAEP deliverables, reporting requirements, the budget and workplan, technical assistance, and then we'll provide some resources as well as a live demonstration in NOVA so you can really see that hands on walkthrough of how the budget and work plans should be entered. At that time, we'll go ahead and go over any Q&A that you guys may have. And with that, I'm going to turn it over to Neil Kelly.

Neil Kelly: All right, thanks, Mandilee. so as you know, this is going to be some kind of detailed information. We'll get into the weeds and we'll do some serious navigating in Nova. And I do see some consortia directors and co-chairs and leads, but I also see a lot of people at the school level and at the district level, maybe these are fiscal people, accounting people. So you've picked a good place because this is going to get into sequencing and then uploading and reporting and any types of questions you might have, so.

First slide here is just kind of the outcome that we want is for you to understand the sequence of the CAEP deliverables, the importance of the timely reporting because we have tons of due dates, and how each component is built upon the next one, specifically the budget and workplan and quarterly expenditure reports.

But we're also going to talk about the allocation process, the certification of fiscal administrative declaration, which is CAEP. We'll talk about the annual plan because all of these are interrelated and they build upon each other. So you can't move on to one unless you certified the other. And so we'll show you that relationship and walk you through those steps. Next slide, please.

All right, so here's a lot of detail, but I'll just pack it slowly for you. So as far as the sequence, the allocation process starts once the governor releases the budget. As you know, that's usually towards the first or second week of January. And then the state by Ed code has to release these preliminary allocations to each consortia or by each consortia by February 28. And so we use a formula to do that. And those are released and shared with all the consortium the state.

And then those consortia have until May 2 to have their public meetings and their internal meetings to decide how those allocations are going to work. There's also Ed code that guarantees no lists in the prior year and things like that. So if there are any changes through the May revised or maybe a trailer bill add on in mid June, then we do an adjustment.

And those adjustments, like we did this year, they are through an allocation amendment which we'll get into a little bit later. And those allocation amendments for the revise that we had this year and the trailer bill adjustment, we had two, are due September 1st.

But absent of that, usually, the schedule, and like we did this year, we get the schedules to the Department of Finance by July 15. And some of you, if you're familiar with this process, we sent out a schedule of how much each member was going to receive based on those may revise or trailer bills. So a lot of times if you are direct funded, we do those schedules for you. And then by statute, we have to get those disbursements out by August 15. And then like I said, if there are any changes to the May revise or trailer bill, then you have until September 1 to certify those amendments.

And so in the middle of this allocation that I just went through is to CFAD. And so the CFAD is a special document. It has to be approved by May 2nd. It can't be reopened or revised. When you certify that CFAD, it's done. It's done for the year. Any allocation, amendments, or changes have to happen outside of the CFAD. You can't go back in and revise the CFAD.

And so when we look at the CFAD, it consists of four main components. There's the fiscal declaration of how much. Part of that fiscal declaration is declaring what kind of structure. Are you a fiscal agent? Are you direct-funded? And then of course, there's agencies and certifiers who is representing your school or district to certify. And then, of course, member allocations and any preview sections. And then once you do that, if we go back up to the allocation part then, if there are any adjustments, then that's taken through the amendment, like this year is due September 1st.

In the middle of that is the annual plan, and the annual plan is due August 15, which was just a few days ago. And this must be approved in Nova before you can start working on your budget and work plans. And so that's why we talk about all this stuff before we get to the budget and work plan because it's important to know the setup of all the things that happen before we get into the budget and work plan.

So you have to have your CFAD in, you have to look for those adjustments and amendments, and then you also have to have your annual plan before you can get into the budget and work plan process of submitting it and then certification by your consortia.

So the budget and work plan identifies strategies and activities from your three-year plan. Actually, it's the annual plan identifies strategies and activities and metrics from the three-year plan, formulates and implements those strategies, and identifies plans of action. So from that annual plan, you're able to create your budget and work plan. So it's all kind of interconnected there. So if you work back up, it's budget and work plan, was a result of the annual plan, which was a result of the CFAD, which was a result of the allocations that happen as a result to the governor's budget. So working backwards. Next slide, please.

And then getting into more detail, which we'll talk about today and we'll show in NOVA The budget and work plan and the expenditure reports, which are quarterly, and then we also have a annual program area report which is kind of outside this process, but still a deliverable.

And so the budget work plan, once the member submits that budget and work plans, the consortia, or consortium, however you set up the approving certifier for the consortium will review, approve, and certify for the upcoming year. And you'll make that person, whoever that primary is for the consortium, whether it's your co-chair or your director or lead or fiscal agent, however you do it they have to be set up in NOVA to do that.

If a member changes their workplan, they have to go back into NOVA and update it. And manually can go into greater detail, but the consortia lead or whoever the primary is would have to go back and do the same process for review approval or reject leading to certification. And then just a note here is you have to do a change of a dollar before resubmitting. And so maybe Mandilee can fill that when we get into the NOVA demonstration.

I'm going to skip down to expenditure reports. So after your budget and workplan, then you have your quarterly expenditure reports. We have some detailed slides on this, but they're required to submit each quarter in NOVA and their cumulative expenses. And you can't have expenses less than what was reported in the previous year. So it's cumulative not-- and those are--

The way we set it up, and I'll show you on a little visual, but we give you 60 days after the quarter ends to process this. So we give everyone plenty of time to submit and then 30 days for the consortium to review and certify. So even though it's a 90-day quarter, it's also a 90-day review, submission, and certification process for each expenditure report that goes in quarterly. So it's kind of interesting if you think of it that way.

And then, of course, the program area report is kind of a standalone report, but it does track each of the consortium members for their total operational costs by fund source, which is important for us to be aware at the state level and the legislature. And then we also collect data from you on instructional hours in the seven key program areas.

Another important factor of this program area report is any fees or revenue are collected too and that kind of feeds into any kind of discussion we're having with the legislature about with this new LEA report looking at doing away with fees. It's important to know where those fees are being collected, which programs. We know non-credit is non-fees, but there are student fees also that go in there too. On the K-12 side, you can't charge for ASVABE and ESL, but CTE is permitted.

So all those things kind of go into that program area report, just gives us more details of what is happening at the local level. And so that's important and that's due December 1st, so. I'll pause there. Do we have any questions because I just went through a lot of material?

Mandilee Gonzales: There is a question from Dana and it says, clarifying if I am correct that Neil is addressing consortium deadlines and that agencies may have earlier deadlines decided at the consortium level.

Neil Kelly: Correct. These are the state deadline. So if you have an internal consortium process that you're using, we'll just look at those state deadlines, so. And I'll look at the next slide, but the deadlines I'll be referring to are the state deadlines, the mandatory state deadlines on certification. Now, each consortium might approach getting to that deadline a little differently. So Dana, you have that flexibility to work through that as long as you meet those state deadlines. So hopefully that answers your question. Next slide, please.

So here are those quarterly expenditure deadlines. So we recommend that the members submit by December 1st, but the consortia has to certify by December 31 for Q1. So backing up, a quarter is July, August, September. So then the quarter ends September 30. Then we give you 60 days, October, November, to figure out your expenses. And then we're hoping that the members file by December 1 and then that gives the consortium 30 days to review and certify by December 1st-- the December 31-- excuse me.

And so each quarter is set up that way. It's a 90-day order and then we give you two months to figure out your expenses and then 30 days for the consortia to certify. And that would be the same for Q2, Q3, and Q4. I'll just note that there is a little bit of a difference in some of these quarters, like, for Q2, if we're looking at life of funds, now, we give you 30 months to spend on your funds. So usually, those funds are expiring.

If they're, let's see, older funds like prior, prior year, they would be expiring by Q2. And that's why we say close out prior, prior year members funds due in NOVA. And so if you haven't closed out those prior, prior year funds, then you would be getting a invoice from the state to revert those funds back to the state. And then we'd want to know-- and then it's certified by March 31, and just to remind you there.

And then Q3, another reminder, is the target spend down in NOVA. Usually, if you're still having carryover after two years and you're 24 months in, NOVA will have a corrective action plan to allow you those extra six months to get to the 30 months. And so that's where it says there on the Q3, reminder target spend on date for 21-22 funds is June 30, 2023 with the corrective action plan in NOVA. Funds can be spent through December 31. That's that 30 months.

And then action is must include clear, concise actionable steps to spend on by December 31. Now, if you didn't spend down by December 31, then in that Q2, you would get the close out prior, prior and those funds would revert to the state. So hopefully I'm not confusing anybody.

But these quarters, they're all connected, but they're just in different years. So you have to be careful, what year the life of the money is, how much time you have to spend, what quarters are coming up. It's all very interesting, but if you've been in this program for a while, you get used to it. But if you're new, you've got to slow down and maybe reread this slide a few times to understand it and then have maybe somebody that's been around the block show you how it works

And then Mayra later is going to go into Q4, which is going to become a very important-- it's already a very important quarter. But with the carryover, that's going to trip the carryover legislation, and looking at the two consecutive years and the 12 months and all that. And she'll go into that a little bit. So next slide, please.

OK, so here it is again, maybe a little better visual. First quarter, of course, remember deadline, December 1st, consortium deadline, which is the state deadline, December 31, and so on and so on. A note here, if the due date falls on a weekend or a holiday, it's close of business on that last working day prior to the reporting deadline. So I'll pause there to see if people have any questions. I think we've got a few questions let's see.

Mandilee Gonzales: So there's a comment from Dr. Diaz that says, Neil, we need to keep in mind holidays. Some districts are gone.

Neil Kelly: Right.

Mandilee Gonzales: Janice has a question related to use of funds, which is can CAEP funds be used for uniform polo shirts for project search students under the DSS program area?

Neil Kelly: So we usually say, with allowable costs, if the skirts are returned or stay on the property or if they're loaned out, they're not a gift. But if those polo shirts do not come back, then that would be a gift to the student. , But we can explore that further. But on the surface, just looking at that question it would not be allowable if the students were given to the students. Thereby qualifying it as a gift.

Mandilee Gonzales: OK, thank you. And then Jennie Crane has a question is the Q3 corrective plan for the full 30 months not applicable in the 23/24, why?

Neil Kelly: Yeah, so it's 24 months. So that would be for any funds that are going beyond that two-year lifespan. So that prior, prior year, that would give you the extra six months. So it really wouldn't be applicable for 23/24. You'd have to wait two years out. So if funds were appropriated July 1, 2023, and then we're looking two years out, that would be June 30, 2025, then you'd have to do a corrective action plan for that Q3 to give you that extra six month in 2025 towards the end of the calendar year, if that makes sense.

Mandilee Gonzales: And then it looks like Mark [inaudible] has a follow up. He says, to follow up on the polo shirt question, are consumable workbooks considered a gift?

Neil Kelly: Not sure what a considerable workbook is, but if the students are gifted with them, they don't come back, you should have some kind of loan program.

Mandilee Gonzales: So just to expand on that. So Neil, a consumable would be like a workbook where they would write within the book.

Neil Kelly: Oh, I got you. I was thinking of a Chromebook or something. No, no, no, no, no, I mean, workbooks, I think that's kind of on a different level there. And I think the supplies and materials and classroom materials and supplies would not be considered gifts as long as it's-- I don't know. I don't want to go any further, but, Yeah, I think that would be considered a gift.

Mandilee Gonzales: Great. And then we have one more question, again, use of funds. And Jen says or asks, we have students in need of having their GED and high-set test fees covered due to hardship, can CAEP cover expense?

Neil Kelly: Right, so as a student support, Jen, we would look at any testing, whether it's pre/post testing for costs or assessments or appraisal or GED or high-set testing, that would be allowable as a student support. But you'd have to do it in a way that you're not giving the student the money. And GED has a good job of setting up a GED manager that you're restricting the student just to that student and a particular test for that student. So the district or the school has control of those funds. So it's not really a gift. It's more of a controlled supportive service.

But you'd have to see how that's set up. Because technically, if you allow the student to control the test, then that would be considered a gift. But if you control the test and have, kind of, say so over how they use it, who uses it, then that's more of a supportive service, so.

Mandilee Gonzales: And Mayra also added in, gifting of public funds is not allowable under prop 98 funds. And Jennie brings up a point that I was going to ask also. So what the corrective action plan for the 24 month mark, I thought that it was something that was no longer being required. That all funds would just have a 30 month shelf-life and that would be starting in the 23/24.

Neil Kelly: I don't know. That could be a question for Mayra for the programming. I don't know if they did away with it or if that's still in the NOVA programming. Mayra any idea on that one.

Mayra Diaz: I'm sorry, what was the question, Neil? I was posting [inaudible].

Neil Kelly: So the question is people thought they did away with at the 24-month mark, the corrective action plans, to get the additional six months. It's no longer required. But I wasn't sure if that's still in NOVA triggered if they go past the 24 months.

Mayra Diaz: So I can confer. I can go back and double check, but one of the changes that was being worked on with the-- and there is a slide in here around the AB 1491 enhancements. Those are being finalized and we are working on putting out a webinar that will walk through what are some of those updates.

In regards to the standard correct, the member corrective action plan, that is with the AB 1491 enhancements, that is going to be triggered by carryover percentages as opposed to spend down expenditure or the standard way in which it was generally populating. So there are some changes to what will actually trigger that corrective action plan, which will now look at it from a carryover perspective. So we will have a separate webinar specific to walking through those updates and helping the field understand what will be some of those triggers.

Neil Kelly: All right, and then just a clarification. So GED does have a voucher system, but you have to set it up where the school controls the voucher. Because if you use GED marketplace, that student can resell that voucher and then that would be a gift. So just be careful how you set up your vouchers and how you hand them out. You have to have control over that, like I said, so it won't be a gift.

But if you set it up in Marketplace, potentially the student could give that to another student and sell it to another student. So you have to be careful on how you're offering those supportive services to the student. And I'm not sure if [inaudible] has something similar. I would check with [inaudible] on that or you would have to set something up at your school to control those vouchers or however you're doing it.

And I don't know, Shannon, if I could-- Oh, is it possible to get the GED voucher information in writing? I think you would have to check maybe with the state on that if someone had a specific question, an email, to your consultant or to me depending on if it's a K-12 or a college. And if it was college, it would go to Mayra. But you could direct email us to get that information and send it back to whoever is looking into that. OK, and any other questions? There was a lot-- and Alejandro gave a pointer there. Thank you, Alejandro. All right, and then with that, I think I'm turning it over to Mayra, right?

Mayra Diaz: Yes, thank you. All right. OK, so just to summarize the quarter 4 expenditure report, going over a few reminders and deadlines. Starting with September 1, which is coming up soon, The 21/22 and 22/23 member expense report is coming up soon. September 30, the 21/22 and 22/23 member expense report will be certified by the consortia and NOVA.

So really want to highlight this quarter for these quarter 4 expenditure deadlines because, one, once the report is submitted, it is closed and cannot be reopen or certified by the consortia. Quarter 4 must be closed out to reflect the accurate available funds in the 23/24 budget and work plan. And if quartet 4 is not closed out, members will see double allocations in their available funds. Best practice is to complete the quarter 4 expense report prior to completing the 23/24 budget and work plan.

I will be talking a little bit more around the impact of this as a reminder with AB 1491. But just wanted to spend some time here in this slide really highlighting, as a standard practice, the quarter 4 report has a lot of these critical components to it. So it's very important that the members and the consortium work to submit and certify these in a timely manner. However, with the tracking and implementation of AB 1491 that's going to be an even more critical component. As quarter 4 gets certified next year in September of 2024, we will be able to capture what is that first year of carryover that is being tracked.

So it's really good to get in the habit of start working with your members, the consortium, to start implementing and reinforcing those deadlines so that whenever we get to this point next year, the consortia has been made aware, the members are aware of the criticalness around getting these quarter 4 report submitted in a timely manner, as we will be able to track and determine what are those carryover balances. So very critical. Next slide, please.

So here's the slide on AB 1491. We're going to continue to set these reminders throughout the year. And as we have mentioned previously, the tracking, the clock, has officially started with the start of this new fiscal year. And as a reminder that the member carryover will impact the consortia carryover. And for the 23/24, with the clock starting, that first year of quarter 4 certification will be September 30 of next year.

So we're not going to see a lot being tracked or triggered, even with the NOVA enhancements for this current year. All of that will go in. Once quarter 4 is certified next year, that is when you'll be able to see the enhancements, and the triggers, and the carryover balances and reports, and all the tools that we'll be made available for the field to be tracking this. But very important that we continue to rely this message. Throughout the year, we'll have continued training and we'll continue to remind the field around these AB 1491 implementation, most specifically to NOVA and the enhancements that will be incorporated.

But just wanted to continue to stress the importance of that quarter 4 submission in a timely manner because we will be able to run a list. At that point, once quarter 4 is submitted, we will need to determine what that carryover balance will be. And if consortium members are not submitting it by that deadline, there could be implications around what that carryover balance will look like if that quarterly 4 report has not been submitted to report on what those expenditures to provide the state with an accurate look of the actual carryover balances.

AB 1491, just a quick summary. It authorizes a consortium to reduce the members excessive carryover funding. It's outlined in Ed code. We've highlighted what impact that will have. So in bullet number three, there was an addition to the language where it basically authorizes a consortia to reduce a member's funding if the member has been ineffective in providing services that address the needs identified in the adult education plan, including having excessive carryover for at least two consecutive fiscal years, beginning with the 23/24 fiscal year.

And I do see that Holly has dropped the guidance, the timeline, and the FAQ. We want to ensure that you continue to refer to that because the year has officially begun. The tracking has gone in. And this will go for the consortia level, which is being looked at a 20% carryover will be flagged for next year.

Earlier this year, the consortia had the ability to designate a carryover threshold and be able to incorporate that into the CFAD. Some consortia opted out. Some consortia plugged in their carryover percentages. Next year, once Q4 is certified, we will be able to see and be able to track what those carryover percentages and amounts look like.

As I mentioned, we are going to be releasing a NOVA enhancements webinar to provide the field with those updates to be able to walk you through the dashboard that is being released, the tools, the reports that will provide consortia and members with an aggregate view or a very narrow view of this information, being able to track carryover. So we're really excited about releasing this and looking forward to hosting this webinar and providing the dates and registration for this soon. Next slide, please.

A few reminders of consortium responsibilities and accountability. The consortium should verify that the expenditures are aligned to the annual and the three-year plans. As Neil mentioned, the annual plan deadline just recently passed a couple of days ago. We hope to have received all 71. Understanding all of the expenditure reporting requirements is also critical for the consortium, including reconciling expenditures and completing budget revisions if needed prior to completing the report.

As you are aligning the expenditures to the annual and three-year plan, there's a reminder that the CAEP funds are restricted to the seven program areas. And we hope to have seen that alignment outlined in these plans. And as you are working on your expenditure reports and reconciling the expenditures, we're hoping that the consortium is tracking that and monitoring that as all this information is getting submitted by the deadline. Next slide, please.

Some fiscal and administrative activities. I wanted to cover a couple key highlights. So it's critical that the consortium develop consortium and member budgets based on CAEP planning. It's important that the consortia is documenting member and consortium activities as it relates to CAEP funding. That there is a review of each member's budget and expenditures for state reporting. Administering a review process of financial budget and expenses to CAEP planning that is tied to the three-year and the annual plans.

In addition, preparing and setting up fiscal administrative oversight related meetings and working with members to submit budget and expenditure reports. That will be critical for the consortia to support its members and ensuring that these items are submitted and reported accordingly. Also ensuring coordination and tracking of consortium and member spending, coordinating budgets in collaboration with consortium members, just district administrators and accounting staff.

And as far as also looking at and helping members with the carryover aspect. We certainly want to ensure that the consortia is working with its members as we get ready to release those tools that should also help the consortium in keeping track and monitoring those member carryovers to help them before we get to that period where they're flagged for that one-year and that second year of carryover. Next slide, please

An overview of how to conduct budget modifications. So with budget modifications, they must be submitted in NOVA prior to the submission of the quarterly expenditure report, providing you with some step by step instructions. If you try to submit a budget modification and have come across some barriers, these are the steps and how you are able to get these budget modifications submitted.

So in order to submit a budget revision, the consortium primary contact must un-certify the budget and then that allows the member representative to un-submit in order to finally get through to the sections in which you would be allowed to make those changes. So just remember that order of sequence. And the member representative enters their changes and resubmit the budget upon the consortium primary contact-- I'm sorry-- upon which the consortium primary contact will need to recertify.

So there's a couple of steps in order to be able to get to the actual budget modification. The consortium will need to un-cerify and then that will allow the member to unsubmit to eventually get to those changes and then it has to work its way back up. If you have questions as you are navigating this, please reach out to our CAEP tab. We're able to provide you with some step by step instructions if you're having trouble whenever you're working on the technical aspect of NOVA. Next slide, please.

Want to highlight a budget and workplan overview. So based on what we've covered and based on the annual plan strategy submitted by August 15 and the CFAD Fed that was submitted earlier this year on May 2nd, each member then creates a budget and plan for the new fiscal year that will run between July 1 and June 30. The member budget is broken down by object code, and this also aligns with the member work plan to spend all active funding during that 12-month fiscal period.

We want to highlight that the active funding includes all carryover and new funding combined into one budget. We want to continue to reiterate, this is going to be critical. I would even encourage the members and the consortia to look at your carryover at the moment, look at the amounts that you have, and start planning and budgeting accordingly, especially as the clock is already started tracking. And next year, the system will be informing us of what that carryover amount is.

So I wouldn't wait until then. I would certainly encourage you to start looking at your carryover, looking at all the active funding and looking at the annual plan and the three-year plan to develop your budget and your work plan accordingly to spend on the funding in alignment with those plans. The due dates, you have until September 30 to submit the 23/24 member program year budget and work plan, that is due in NOVA. And also by October 30, then the consortia will go in and certify that 23/24 budget and work plan. So keep those deadlines in mind. Next slide, please.

And to summarize the overview. So for the budget and workplan, the member work plan aligns with the strategies of the annual plan. Members will check off which strategies from the annual plan they are covering with their 12-month budget. Once the member submits their work plan and budget, the consortium will then review-- I'm sorry-- approve, and certify for the upcoming year.

If the member has changes to their work plan and/or the budget, it will go back through NOVA using the same process of consortium member review, approval, and certification. For the member budget and workplan from prior year, it can be modified until submission of that quarter for expenditure report.

So there's a lot of steps that tie into one another. We hope that you can recall all this information. But if you have questions as you are working on your budget and workplan, after this presentation, please reach out to us and we'll be happy to help walk you through the steps and provide technical support via our CAEP TAP. Next slide, please. All right, I am going to hand it over to Mandilee. Thank you, Mandilee.

Mandilee Gonzales: Yeah, no problem. Thank you for that. And I know I mentioned early on that this is pretty intense as far as the information. We hope, though, that with this PowerPoint, you're able to refer back to it, use it as a resource to inform how you move forward.

We understand that there are deliverables that happen pretty frequently. And just want to reiterate that they do tie into one another. I'm hoping that this can be a supportive tool. And if you ever have the need, always reach out to us via email or phone. We're happy to jump on a phone call with you or even hop on to a Zoom where we can share screen and move forward.

So the next few slides, I'm going to go through pretty quickly. They are really the steps that we're going to be going over in a live demonstration. And before I move forward, I see that there's a pretty hefty, some questions coming through. So it may be on some of the items that Mayra covered. So we'll just go over that really quick before we jump into the next set of slides.

So Jen Wilson says, by midyear of 22/23, we had the realization that our hiring plans would not become a reality. Hiring has been slow post-covid due to schools that go back to their budget and resubmit. Do most schools go back to their budget and resubmit a revised budget or do most close the year with reported expenditures simply being flagged as not part of their annual plan? We have never done a revision despite knowing we had-- sorry-- got another one and it moved on me. We have never done a revision despite knowing. We had some changes by mid-year and close with the fiscal changes being flagged in NOVA.

Mayra, I don't know if you have a response to that. I can say, Jen, that under the circumstances now with AB 1491, it might not have been past practice, but it might be something that you want to consider moving forward as a consortium or definitely, at least, as within your agency, knowing that there is going to be that closely monitored carryover. If you have a strategy to spend down that money in the next quarter, you can always have that overage or in that next fiscal year, you have a strategy in which you're going to spend down those funds.

I think there was, and Neil can maybe speak to this, I believe they had kind of a forgiveness. There was a little bit of a forgiveness with certain criteria due to COVID. But post-pandemic, we're not seeing those same kind of forgiveness or extensions. Mayra or Neil or Renee, did anyone else want to chime in?

Mayra Diaz: I would say something similar. I think it depends on the situation. And I would probably want to take that back and look at it a little bit because it sounds to me like a, depending on the scenario and especially with post-COVID, so I think we can certainly take that back and provide a follow-up response.

Mandilee Gonzales: OK, sounds good. OK, and then it looks like Dr. Ramirez Gillespie is responding to Jen and saying that that's also been their row for the 22/23 hires. Didn't materialize until this term for the 23/24 fiscal. And then Elena has shared additional information for everybody in the chat. So unless there's any other questions, we'll go ahead and move on.

So again, I'm just going to go over a quick high level overview of what we're going to go through in a live demonstration. So when you enter into NOVA, you're typically going to go to your budget and workplan. You'll have that workflow that will pop up. You'll see that always on the left hand side. You're going to address those educational needs, improve the integration of services and transitions, improve effectiveness of services. Those are going to be all of your options. Again, this will tie into your budget in that next step.

When you go to the next step of the budget, this is your member budget. So this will be specific to each member representative. You will see the allocation summary. So you will see the dollar amount in which you need to spend down in your budget and workplan. And that can be from salaries or materials. And then there's a couple of notes here on the left that, again, you guys can always refer to.

And then you're going to go into the budget development. And this is where you're going to add in any of your object code. So again, I think I mentioned is this going to be your capital outlay. Are there going to be indirect costs or is these materials? So this gives you that opportunity to line item, how that money is going to be spent, what object code it's going to be budgeted to, and then a brief description of expenditure.

On a side note, I would say that brief description of expenditure, be as clear and concise as you can in that area. It is helpful if you bear in mind, maybe you won't be that person in that same seat in two years, you want to make sure that it's understandable by anyone who might go back in to review and/or audit or even for your own notes.

And so I see another chat has come through. I'm going to go ahead and read that out loud. So Trang says, in the budget work plan, you mentioned that it includes carryover and new allocation amounts. If LEA's know that they are not able to fully spend the carryover and new allocation in the current year, do we still just plan as if we would be able to expend the carryover and new allocation even if we have a 30-month shelf-life or 30 months to spend?

So in this situation, Trang, I would say if you know that you are not going to be able to spend those moneys down within the year, that can be a larger discussion that you have with your leadership, and that can look like if your program in this next fiscal year isn't able to spend that money down but potentially, there's another member within your consortium that, you can always do an allocation and transfer it as a one time allocation to another member.

If you do that, it's not going to affect any funds for your agency in the following year. But there are various strategies that you guys can look at and explore depending on how you want to navigate that. And I think That's how I would approach it. Neil, Mayra, or Renee, or even Holly because I know that she works with all of you a lot of the times as well, if there is any other advice or scenarios that you would like to chime in on.

Holly C: This is Holly. My only thought on this is with 1491. We want to be careful about not materializing your expenditures and planning on spending them within that 30-month shelf-life because that can affect your consortium's overall carryover and puts you over the 20% CAEP. So be mindful and cautious of just planning to spend it down the road.

Mayra Diaz: Yeah, that's a good point, Holly. Thank you for chiming in. And also just wanted to add that I know as we're starting to highlight the awareness of AB 1491 clock, starting to track, we certainly want to ensure that consortia are, and their members, are keeping track of that carryover. Ultimately, it is up to the members to determine and work within their institutions to determine how they're going to spend that funding in alignment and in alignment with that three-year plan.

But certainly, keeping an eye and maybe going back and look at how much carryover you currently have because, as Holly pointed out, there is going to be that 20% annual consortia automatic carryover tracking that the state is doing. And if the consortia is carrying over 20% after September 30 of next year, 2024, then there will be a written expenditure plan flagged for the consortia to complete.

They will be assigned technical assistance, that's at the consortia level, whereas at the member level, if the member has excessive carryover, it depends on whether their consortia decided on a percent carryover threshold that was recorded in the CFAD that will determine year one carryover logging next year as well once quarter 4 is certified. But either way, it's the consortia carryover that's being monitored as well as the member and the consortium. So one will impact the other.

It will be really important that the member, the consortia, they all have this conversation, especially as these plans are currently, and the budget and work plan is being developed, to look at how that carryover will be addressed. Of course, being spent down in accordance with the regulations. But definitely a conversation to take back and start having as you're developing your budget and work on.

And we'll certainly be covering this more in depth when we get ready to announce the webinar and put out the webinar for AB 1491 NOVA enhancement. So stay tuned more to come on that. In the interim, also continue to refer to the guidance that was posted in the chat.

Mandilee Gonzales: OK, thank you, Holly and Mayra for your help with that. And it looks like there's additional questions. So the initial question came in from Sarah. Is there a formula to determine the amount of consortium fiscal/admin expenses the fiscal agent is allowed to claim? And Holly, thank you for replying saying that the CAEP for the fiscal consortium admin expense is 5%. In addition, Neil added that is not to be confused with the individual district indirect rate. The fiscal consortium is 5% and is up for approval by members, not a guaranteed 5%.

Brenda Smith asked another question. What is the indirect rate that's allowed? And Brenda, I'm sorry, if you can maybe provide more context. So it's up to 5%, but I think you might be talking about the district indirect. And Neil, do you have any say on that?

Neil Kelly: Yeah, so the legislation the Ed code states for K-12, it's 5% or your CDE approved indirect rate for the district, whichever is less. So you have to check that CDE-approved indirect rate, and a lot of times it's less than 5%. So you have to take the lesser of the two or you'll be that out of compliance.

Mandilee Gonzales: Thank you. So Molly has another question. May consortium members adjust the budget amount from one category to another at any time as many as wanted? Thank you, Holly. Yes, Molly, you can and that is done through a budget revision.

All right, so additional resources being shared by Matra as well as Holly. And then for those that have additional questions regarding the indirect rate, Mayra's posted that it is on page 25 in the fiscal guidance. Holly has also added that to our chat. So I appreciate all of the questions and the support in answering them. Thank you, everyone. And with that, I think, we're going to go ahead and move on.

All right, so the cumulative quarterly expenditure. This is where you're going to enter in that forecast. It is cumulative. So that means you add one quarter to the next. I know it sounds silly to say it that way, but I know that, in the moment, someone will say, Oh, I'm going to spend 25% in Q1, 25% in Q2, and so on and so forth. Really what that should reflect is, if you do intend to spend 25, 25, 25, 25, it would look 25, 50, 75, 100. Is there a recommendation for what that should look like given that new AB 1491, Neil or Mayra?

Mayra Diaz: I think it should be the same, but I think it really just depends. The member would want to look at how much carryover do they have. This part of NOVA has not been updated, so the same level of funding that the consortia has implemented in entering these percentages. But I think it really is a good opportunity for the consortia or the members to go back and look at their current overall, what is the carryover amount that you have in the balance that you have to see how you want to spend down.

Mandilee Gonzales: OK.

Neil Kelly: Yeah, we just said it requires a little more technical expertise because you have the 12 months at the consortium level that the state will put you in technical assistance. And then you have your two consecutive years for each member that the consortium has determined.

So that forecasting is going to become really important, but they have to map it out depending on if it's on a 12-month cycle, 20 more four-month cycle, and then you have your own consortia spend down cycle that you might want to factor into that too. So a lot to consider. But Yeah, you can use this as a tool to help you with that forecasting. So that's it.

Mandilee Gonzales: Thank you.

Renee Collins: And if I could add anything, I think the state in the past has recommended by quarter one, 15%, by quarter two you've spent 30%, by quarter three, 45%, and by fourth quarter, 60%. And that will be changing what may be 1491, where we need to spend down at least 80% with no more than 20% carryover. So I don't know that it matters what numbers go in quarter 1, quarter 2, quarter 3, but by quarter 4, you need to be at least at that 80%. And Neil or Mayra, if you want to clarify any further, but that's my understanding with the forecasting.

Mayra Diaz: That is correct, Renee, and this percentages are certainly accurate. So this part will remain the same, but certainly take that into consideration as you're looking at what is the total amount that you have that you want to spend that down. What will be, and I think we might have a slide, but what will be updated with the new NOVA enhancements is what triggers the consortia or the member corrective action plan.