Jackson County board approves consolidated federal programs application; private-school Title I allocation rises to $54,000

The Jackson County Public Schools Board of Education on an adopted motion approved the district's annual consolidated federal programs application, accepting planning allotments for Title I, II, III and IV federal grants.

The application shows a modest decrease in the district's Title I planning allotment — about $17,000, roughly 1% — while Title II increased by about $1,300 (about 1%), Title III increased by about $1,200 (about 3%), and Title IV fell slightly by roughly $1,000 (about 1%). Board members approved the application after a presentation by Mrs. Fields, the staff member who presented the packet and explained the allotments are planning figures tied largely to enrollment and specific student groups.

The nut of the discussion focused on equitable services to students enrolled in private schools. The Title I allocation coded in the budget as school 860 (listed as “non ADM students”) is shown at $54,000 for the coming year, up from roughly $13,000–$15,000 in earlier years and about $30,000 last year. Mrs. Fields said that amount represents funds for private-school students who qualify under Title I income thresholds and that the district provides those services on the private schools' behalf.

Board members asked how accountability and spending are handled for private-school participants. Mrs. Fields explained the district must confirm that participating students reside in Jackson County and meet income thresholds; to protect privacy the district collects only student initials when shown pretest and posttest results rather than full names. She said the district does not send a check to the private school; instead, when a private school requests materials or technology the district orders the items directly and has them shipped to the private school, tagging assets where appropriate. If the private school does not spend its allocation within the state window, the funds carry forward for that private school into the next fiscal year rather than reverting to the district.

Mrs. Fields named the two private schools participating in the district's Title I equitable services this year as Heritage Christian School and Nucaduwa Cherokee Language Immersion School, noting Nucaduwa serves Jackson County students though it is located in the Swain County portion of the district boundary.

The board approved the consolidated federal programs application by voice vote.

Clarifying details noted at the meeting include that Title III funds support multilingual students and English-language learning services, and that the listed “non ADM students” budget line refers to services delivered for qualifying private-school students rather than direct spending on Jackson County Public Schools campuses.