Staff propose 50% threshold for Title I school identification; plan would add two middle schools and reallocate funds

Staff presented options for Title I school identification and recommended using a 50% free/reduced lunch threshold for FY26. Under that threshold staff said the division could add two middle schools (including Drew Middle) to Title I support; doing so would divide the available Title I allocation across more schools and reduce the per‑school supplemental amount for some currently identified schools unless those schools use carryover funds to offset the change.

Staff explained how the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) multiplier affects comparisons: CEP schools do not collect individual applications, so the state uses a federal multiplier (1.6) to estimate the eligible population for Title I purposes. Staff said CEP status and the multiplier can make direct FRL (free/reduced‑lunch) percentages difficult to compare across schools, and explained that converting a school to CEP can reduce the district’s monthly federal reimbursement for meals if participation is already high — a trade‑off that influences whether a school should convert to CEP.

Staff said redistricting scenarios projected some attendance areas shifting significantly (for example, Anthony Burns would drop in FRL percentage under current redistricting scenarios) and that the division has requested a carryover waiver for Title I so schools in transition are not harmed by near‑term program changes. Board members asked for additional detail: how much Title I carryover each school currently has and multi‑year CEP calculations. Staff said the Title I application must reflect a threshold and school list for submission and asked the board to adopt the recommended threshold so the application can be filed in June.