APS shifts Title I, at‑risk allocations; priority schools to receive targeted staff and higher per‑pupil allotment

The Albuquerque Public Schools Finance Committee discussed a proposal to reallocate Title I and operational at‑risk funds intended to focus resources on priority and emerging schools, officials said at the Feb. 26 meeting.

The changes include raising the school‑level poverty threshold for school‑based Title I allocations from 50% to 60%, an increase in the district’s per‑pupil Title I allotment to $777 for qualifying schools, and an “off‑the‑top” allocation of three full‑time‑equivalent (FTE) positions for each school identified as priority. Those three positions are described by staff as a transformational coach, a community school coordinator and a student success systems coordinator. Emerging schools will receive a transformational coach and additional targeted Title I funds for small‑group tutoring or professional development, staff said.

District presenters said the Office of Federal and State Programs, created this year, led a review of duplications and alignment across federal programs. Staff and an outside consultant, Educational Resource Strategies (ERS), examined flexible funds and concluded Title I and operational at‑risk funds were the levers with the most flexibility to support the board’s performance framework and board‑adopted guardrails.

During the committee discussion, board members pressed staff on effects for schools that fall below the new 60% direct‑certification threshold. Staff clarified that schools below 60% would not receive school‑based Title I allocations but might still receive other district or programmatic Title I support (for example, district‑level or department‑based services). "School based Title I funds is what we're talking about here. It doesn't mean that those schools are without any title funds specifically," said an official from the Office of Federal and State Programs.

Staff warned the committee the changes depend on federal funding and are not guaranteed. If federal Title I or Medicaid funds were lost, the district would not be able to sustain the additional positions and services funded through those sources. Staff said they are advocating at the federal level and preparing to return to the board with adjustments if funding is reduced or eliminated.

Board members asked about the scale of positions supported by the current funding model. Staff provided a rough estimate that school‑based positions funded through Title I and related grants could number in the hundreds and offered to supply an exact figure to the committee. Staff also said principals are being engaged through support sessions and one‑on‑one conversations with assistant superintendents to help align budgets with the new performance framework and explain the required uses of funds.

Why it matters: The shift concentrates more restricted federal funds on struggling schools and ties allocations to the district’s performance framework. It also increases the per‑pupil funding unit for qualifying schools and adds targeted staff intended to support school transformation. Because the allocations rely on federal dollars, the proposal carries implementation risk if grants are reduced.

Supporting details and limits: The committee heard that the direct certification process is used to determine poverty percentages at the 80‑day count; staff said the district applies a 1.6% multiplier in some calculations to account for under‑reported eligible students. Staff emphasized that many of the new allocations are ‘‘soft’’ federal funds and could disappear if federal funding is not sustained. Staff said the change was designed after running multiple allocation models and working with ERS to identify where the district could reallocate flexible funds.

The committee did not take a formal vote on this discussion item at the meeting; it was presented for review and questions.