Winslow schools told to submit corrective action after state desk monitoring finds Title IV-A and technology-spending issues

The Winslow Township School District must file a corrective action plan with the New Jersey Department of Education after a recent desk monitoring review found areas requiring clarification and at least one item not met.

Superintendent Doctor Poteet told the Board of Education on March 26 that the state monitored the district’s administration of federal grants under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The report covers Title I through Title IV and IDEA grants with a total listed in the report of about $4,800,000.

The report rated most program areas “met” or “met with recommendations.” The monitoring identified a “met with recommendations” item for Title IV‑A that asked the district to better document its needs-assessment process for any award over $30,000, showing stakeholders, dates, data used and results. A separate program requirement (referred to in the report as “a3”) was rated “not met” because district spending on technology did not conform to the Title IV‑A rule that caps infrastructure purchases at 15% of funds and requires at least 85% to be spent on professional development for effective technology use.

“Our team under direction of doctor Carcamo, will be putting together, this, corrective action plan, and we will be submitting this plan to the Department of Education,” Doctor Poteet said during the meeting. He also said the Department gave the district 30 business days to submit evidence toward resolution; the district recorded the monitoring report receipt on March 21 and identified April 21 as the 30‑day mark.

Board members asked clarifying questions about the dollar amounts and the monitoring timeline. Poteet said the district received additional funding and technical assistance at School 1, School 6 and the high school earlier in the year and that the district’s federal grant total shown in the report is near $4.8 million.

The corrective action steps Poteet described include re‑budgeting and reallocating Title IV‑A funds to meet the 15% infrastructure cap and producing a professional‑development plan documenting how at least 85% of Title IV‑A funds will be devoted to training. The superintendent said the district will submit revised budget allocations and supporting documentation to the Department of Education.

The board did not take a formal roll‑call vote on the corrective action plan at the March 26 meeting; the action was presented as staff direction and as an informational requirement from the state.

The Board of Education is scheduled to consider any formal policy or budget changes resulting from the corrective action plan at a later public meeting once the district has prepared the documentation requested by the state.