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Title I allocation discussion: trustees weigh moving instructional coaches and behavior interventionists to general fund
Summary
District staff and the finance team presented scenarios for FY26 Title I allocations and proposed moving instructional coaches and some behavior interventionists from federal Title I funds into the district general fund; board asked for careful consideration of long‑term sustainability, audit rules and cost implications.
District leaders told the Sumter School Board on Feb. 25 they are reexamining how Title I federal funds are applied to personnel after principals and trustees raised concerns about sustaining instructional coaches and behavior interventionists if additional schools join the Title I roster or federal allocations fall.
Pamela Rhodes, speaking for academics, and finance staff explained the district provided principals with planning scenarios in case the district’s Title I allocations change when the state issues official percentages in mid to late May. The principals asked the district to consider placing existing instructional coaches and the remainder of Title I‑funded behavior interventionists onto the general fund so schools would not lose those positions if allocations fall or if additional schools become Title I‑eligible.
“Once you move an activity or personnel from a federal grant to general funds, it cannot be moved back to the federal grant,” Rhodes warned, quoting federal guidance. That restriction means any permanent change must account for long‑term funding sustainability.
Chief financial officer Systega Spearman outlined estimated costs. Staff said moving existing instructional coaches to the general fund would add roughly $1.2 million (salary and fringe) for the schools currently supported by Title I. Adding instructional coaches to cover high schools (a different staffing model the district is considering in place of “instructional AP” roles) would increase the cost another $200,000–$300,000. The district estimated the full package — instructional coaches for all current Title I schools plus the Title I‑funded behavior interventionists already in place — could amount to about $2.3 million in salary and fringe if funded in the general fund.
Board members asked whether personnel time could be split between fund sources. Rhodes and Spearman said split funding is possible but requires detailed time documentation and is administratively cumbersome; it increases audit risk if time and duties are not rigorously documented.
Trustees also discussed equity and program consistency. Rhodes said principals had asked the district to keep the five elementary schools originally proposed to be removed from Title I in the current program; after principal and board feedback, the district withdrew the plan to remove those five schools and will instead keep them on Title I pending state allocations.
Ending: District staff will return with final Title I allocation numbers when the state issues official percentages in mid/late May and recommended the board weigh long‑term sustainability before approving any permanent shift of federal‑funded positions into the general fund.
