These funds would need to be given via an allocation amendment, thus making it a one-time transfer of funds. The member agency receiving the monies and providing the instruction would reports hours of instruction, etc. in TE and on their program area report. Your agency would not report anything since you no longer have the money for the year, and you do not offer instruction.

You are unable to give the new member money until July 1st, when the CFAD marking them as funded goes into effect. Once they are funded (July 1), you can do an allocation amendment to give them a one-time additional pot of funds. You can give it from the oldest pot available, which may be the 21/22 funds (if you've spent all your 20/21 funds).

You would do an allocation amendment to give the member extra money. An allocation amendment is a one time move of funds. The funds would be automatically added to their Budget but you will need to un-certify for them so they can go in and assign the extra money to object codes. They then submit and you re-certify.

You will be able to find the consortium allocation on the website at
https://caladulted.org/Administrators/14 (HOME > ADMINISTRATORS >FUNDING >ANNUAL >CAEP ALLOCATION) The breakdown for each member is not determined by the state. Please review NOVA, specifically the CFAD, to see the member allocation per year. It is important to look at the Allocation Amendments for each year; any moving of money after the CFAD was certified will be recorded there. If you scroll to the Allocation section in NOVA and click on view Amendment History, there will be a list of all amendments and that will show your true and final allocation for the year. Please note that multiple amendments can be done within a year so look for the last updated amendment.

The COLA is divided across all consortia members based on the state-identified funding formula. Employee salaries and benefits are negotiated items determined by each district, county office, or Joint Powers Authority (JPA). Individual member agencies cannot decide to pass down the cola increase to employees' salaries. The agencies must use the district’s process to negotiate and approve salary increases.

Yes - all members who have soon-to-expire funds remaining will need to spend down by December 31st or return the remaining balances to the State. The state will be conducting an audit of end-of-life-cycle balances soon. Although the members balances say they have funds remaining, the FIFO chart shows the consortium no longer has those funds available. If you think something is incorrect, please ask you member to verify with their district that all their soon-to-expire funds have been spent.

Yes, the two members will need to approve the prior allocation amendment for NOVA to update the totals to start the next amendment.

A new Allocation Amendment will need to be done for the July increase. The amendment summary can be updated in the new amendment.

The allocation information is in the NOVA fiscal management system. Each consortia member allocations are listed.

Prior year allocations can be found on the CAEP website, caladulted.org. You will click on Administrators, Funding and then Annual CAEP Allocations. There you will find the allocation schedules by year.

Below are a few options to support your request:

1. Consortium with member agreement can always make one-time allocation amendments during the year. This means going into NOVA and moving funds from one district to another. Since your consortium is direct funded – you would have to physically transfer money around among members. Allocation amendments have no impact on the annual allocations via the CFAD (which by statute is based on prior year amounts). But you can use whatever mechanism you want for the reallocation adjustment discussion following your by-laws for one-time re-allocations.

2. Now, if the consortium wanted to adjust the annual allocations via the CFAD – there is specific education code that must be followed. This cannot be superseded by by-laws. Rules under EC 84914 (a) Member gets the same amount as they did in the prior year. (b) For the COLA – member receives the same proportional share based on prior year funding. (c) Member annual allocation amounts maybe reduced as follows (1) the member no longer wishes to do what they said they were going to do, (2) the member can’t do what they said they were going to do, or (3) member is ineffective.

Link to the education code: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=EDC&sectionNum=84914.

If the consortium wants to change the amounts for the upcoming year, you must have members that no longer wish to provide services according to the 3 year/annual plan, or can’t provide the services, or are ineffective and reasonable intervention have not resulted in improvements.

The coming year's allocations are posted in the CFAD section of NOVA. Once the consortium certifies the CFAD, the allocations will move to the Allocations section of NOVA.

If the consortium wants to fund new members that have no prior year funding, they should use the allocation amendment process after the CFAD is submitted to reallocate consortium funds to the new member.

The best explanation is in our fiscal management guide Section 2.

Here is the folder on the website with the detailed formula

The CFAD is the official allocation document for each year. We advise consortia if they are going to do a one-time allocation, to do this using the allocation amendment process after the CFAD is submitted. Per State regulations, the member may receive no less than the prior year’s CFAD unless there is cause to reduce their allocation (EC 84914).

So if that member received a 1% COLA on the CFAD, than that increase would be reflected in this year’s calculation. Using the current years official CFAD, all members would receive an allocation amount proportional to the percentage they received last year.

If the 1% was given via an allocation amendment and not the CFAD, then you will not be required to give it again this year.

There is no way to discern this information in NOVA. In NOVA, you can use the FIFO chart to see the remaining funds, by FY, for the member who is holding the common consortium funds. However, the member would have to determine of their available funds, how much is the common consortium funds.

Yes - you will complete an allocation amendment based on the fund year you are re-allocating the monies. For example, like I used in the webinar, if a member will not use all of their 2018-19 funding by the expiration date, you would complete an allocation amendment for 2018-19 to move monies from one member to the next.

Based on CAEP policy:

1. Allocation decisions and any consortium decision must be discussed via a public meeting (per CAEP ed code).
2. Members must receive the same amount as in the prior year (EC84914)
3. Only members that meet one of the three criteria in EC84914 can have their prior year amount reduced.
4. For 20-21 – all members are eligible for the COLA – unless the consortium invokes EC84914.
5. Voting on who gets the COLA is not allowable. Everyone is eligible for the COLA (unless you invoke EC84914).

Q: Do member allocations for the May 2nd due date require 100% member participation?
A: Yes – all members must be at a public (virtual) meeting to discuss & decide on the CFAD that is due 5/2. Decision making & public meetings are mandated in the CAEP ed code. All members must certify the CFAD in NOVA after the public meeting & decisions are made by the members.

Q: Does approval require consensus?
A: Approval requires certification via NOVA by each member. How the consortium comes to an allocation decision is based on their by-laws. But – under ed code 84914 – each member receives the same amount as the prior year. Per CDE/Chancellor’s Office (official guidance for 20-21) – all members are eligible to receive the COLA – based on the proportional share from the prior year allocation. So the members are kind of lock in on the decision making unless a member invokes EC84914 to reduce their allocation amount.

Q: We are not looking to reduce the prior year’s allocation just reserve COLA with the fiscal agent.
A: Since State guidance says all members must receive a proportional share of the COLA, in order to reduce a member’s COLA from their proportional share – you must cite cause under EC84914. If you invoke 84914, you must cite that in you CFAD narrative and all members must agree to it by certifying.

Q: Additionally, we are amending 19-20 allocations to increase one of our members. Does that require a vote at a public meeting or just approval in NOVA?
A: Any decisions by the consortium must be done in a public meeting setting per the CAEP education code. Once approved via the public meeting, all members must certify the allocation amendment in NOVA (along with the new budget and any change to the member’s plan).

Q: Can member A just email and request the fiscal agent reduce their allocation to fund member B and then approve in NOVA?
A: You must have public meeting minutes to track all decisions for the consortium. Plus all members must approve/certify in NOVA.

With a corrective action plan, the consortium can extend from June 30th and have a new spend down date of December 31st for the remaining funds.

You can always invoke Ed Code 84914 to reduce a member below their proportional amount if it qualifies under at least one of the three criteria of 84914. That could be one way of reducing consortium held funds. But members would have to agree that it would meet at least one of the criteria under EC 84914 and certify the change in NOVA. If the criteria for reducing an allocation does not fit, there is another way. The reduced amount has been applied to each agency in NOVA. So while that must stay the way it is, there is a way for you to give funds to them to recoup what they were reduced by. It will take a little more work on the college's part. 1. First, all members who will receive an allocation for 20-21, including the college, must all submit an allocation amendment for the May Revise reduction. 2. The college can then do one allocation amendment for each member to move the same amount that was just reduced, over to the member. If they funds being moved are from 19-20, then the allocation amendment will need to happen in the 19-20 Allocation section. This is more work on the college. If you have 5 members, you will have to do a total of 6 amendments; one for 20-21 May Revise and then one for each member.

It is advised that members meet to discuss the May Revise reductions; however, consortia should check with their districts to see if a public meeting, including a vote, is required.

It is also advised for consortia upload their meeting minutes or discussion notes in the Supporting Documents section in NOVA.

When you met last month, that was to certify the original allocations, before the reduction, correct?

If so, it will be a district decision if another meeting/vote is required.

If it is not required, you will still want to upload the minutes from the previous meeting where the vote was held to approve the allocation.

Payments are distributed from CDE. You can contact Lori at the email below:

Lori Zocklein, Staff Services Analyst
Adult Education Support Office
California Department of Education
1430 N Street, Suite 4202
Sacramento, CA 95814-5901
lzocklein@cde.ca.gov
http://www.cde.ca.gov/

Yes, members can take indirect on redistributed funds as members can only claim indirect on expenses. A safeguard is to ensure the member giving has not claimed indirect on those funds. If they have, they will need to reverse that as it is not allowed.

So long as consortia members agree to it, funds can be used for a consortium-level activity in the current fiscal year such as a program for Career Skills Development . It would be important to include this in the Annual Plan.

The short answer is no, they can't report more than their allocation.

From the Fiscal Guidance, page 36, Expense Reporting
No, expenditures cannot be reported with a negative balance in any of the object codes in NOVA. In addition, prior, prior year funding is the oldest funding. For example, during 19-20 fiscal year, 19-20 funding would be prior, prior year funding, and 20-21 funding would be prior year funding, and 21-22 funding would be current year funding.

From the Fiscal Guidance, page 36, FIFO and Closing Out Funds
CAEP funds have a 30-month life span NOVA tracks funds by allocation year/amount using the FIFO method until all funds are spent. NOVA expenditure information may not match local district accounting ledgers as prior year NOVA expense reports cannot be reopened for adjustments. Using the FIFO method, the State encourages accounting offices to update expenses in the next quarter to reflect accurate expenses (provided this is within the 30-month cycle/life span of the funds). Close out of funds begins after the 30-month period is over. Members will certify in NOVA if they have liquidated all funds being closed out or if they will be remitting any funds to the State. The State recapture must be finalized by June 30 (or 3 years from the release of funds).

The adult school needs to determine where these "carryover" funds originated from. Are they CAEP funds or are they other adult ed funds such as Maintenance of Effort, CalWorks, etc. that were mistakenly mixed in with CAEP funds.
One way to address this issue would be to back out the overage from the general ledger and have the District cover the carryover with District funds.
Another option might be to do an allocation amendment. Transfer funds from the consortium-level or a member-level to the adult school to cover the overage. Consider whether this is a one-time "gift" or if there will be a repayment in the current fiscal year with another allocation amendment.
Something to consider: If these are determined to be CAEP funds and they are more than 30 months old, the adult school may owe the State for funding that wasn't returned earlier.

The COLA is divided across all consortia members based on the state-identified funding formula. Employee salaries and benefits are negotiated items determined by each district, county office, or Joint Powers Authority (JPA). Individual member agencies cannot decide to pass down the COLA increase to employees' salaries. The agencies must use the district’s process to negotiate and approve salary increases.

The expiration date of the funds remains the same, 2 years, or 2.5 years with a corrective action plan in NOVA.

Currently, the split between colleges and K-12 adult schools is 89% for adult schools and 11% for community colleges. That is at the statewide level and this may vary depending on how the regional consortia were set up in 2015. Most community colleges with larger noncredit programs received a larger allocation of CAEP funds. In some regions, there were no K-12 adult programs (or very little), so most of the CAEP funding went to the college. Conversely, there are a few community college districts that do not offer noncredit programs, so in those cases the college received a smaller amount or chose not to receive any CAEP funding. You can look up these amounts by going into NOVA and clicking on the various consortia to review their CFAD allocations.

Keep in mind back in 2015, that many regions, received the minimum funding of $750,000 per consortia. This was intended to help the region grow their adult education programming. Consortia that have not grown their program in these last ten years, may see drastic cuts if the new funding formula becomes reality. There is still time to grow programs and increase enrollment/outcomes.

There are now four ways in education code to reduce a member’s funding:

They don’t follow the adult ed plan
They can’t follow the adult ed plan
They are deemed ineffective and a reasonable intervention didn’t resolve the ineffectiveness
They have carryover for two consecutive years

3 and #4 have specific education code guidance that the consortium must follow if they choose to reduce a member’s allocation based on those options.

3 – the consortium would have to have a public meeting and decide what constitutes ineffectiveness. Most consortia that go this route have based it on CAEP deliverables. You cannot be ineffective for having carryover – that’s #4. Plus in this option, you have to have by-laws that lays out the process for the reasonable intervention.

4 – as we know from the various webinars, AB1491 lays out the member carryover guidance and the steps to go through. For a member’s funding to be reduced for carryover, it has to be two consecutive years, the consortium has to establish the member carryover threshold in advance of the coming year via the CFAD, and the consortium has to set up a technical assistance process to help a targeted member. Consortia can’t just reduce a member’s funding with the CFAD – that is not allowed and violates statute (is illegal).

The COLA adjustment for FY2024-25 as outlined is the Governor’s January budget proposal is $4,911,000.00 or 0.76% (0.75422%). Below is detailed publicly available information accessible in the Department of Finance for further information. However, due to rounding protocols, the field may not arrive at the same calculation.

https://ebudget.ca.gov/2024-25/pdf/BudgetSummary/HigherEducation.pdf
https://ebudget.ca.gov/2024-25/pdf/GovernorsBudget/6000/6870RWA.pdf

Allocations, including COLA's, are required to follow the consortia funding formula. The board may vote to redistribute the COLA differently and depending on your bylaws, is the process that should be followed. To keep the allocation amendment history clean, the recommendation is to follow the final allocation schedule and allocate funds based on those numbers. This ensures that no member receives less than the previous year's allocation (final). Then dependent on your bylaws, vote, etc. funds can be re-allocated as a one-time transaction.

When it comes to funding an existing or new member, this is where the CFAD is important. It is not explicit in the current Fiscal Management guide and we are working with CAEP leadership to provide steps.

New members can be voted in following ed code criteria (and CAEP general assurances along with any consortium by-laws). With board approval, new members can be funded based on the consortium by-laws. If a consortium chooses to reallocate funds via the CFAD from an existing member to a new member, if all ed code criteria has been met (removal of funding from existing members(s).

If the consortium is funding a new member via an allocation amendment during the program year, and the membership is willing to reallocate their funds, then the consortium must follow their bylaws, along with CAEP general assurances.

You can find all CAEP Allocation schedules on our website under Administrator > Funding > CAEP Allocation. https://caladulted.org/Administrators/14.

The preliminary allocations are always shared as consortium. Final allocations are completed after the May revise when final numbers are calculated and shared out. That will come post CFAD, typically.

The final allocation amount from the State is the baseline and cannot be reduced in subsequent years. Any internal reallocation of funds between members does not affect this amount. When the guidance states that a member cannot receive less than the prior year, it refers specifically to the allocation amount recorded by the State.