School Budget Review Committee review: staff propose alternate MSA calculations, demonstration of need, and use of categorical funds
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Summary
The board received a detailed SBRC update on special education and EL spending authority (MSA) including an IDEA Part B application rollout and a work session that explored alternative MSA calculations, board documentation of spending‑authority purpose, scaled thresholds, TSS use, and using categorical balances to offset MSA requests.
Department staff reported to the board on SBRC activity and an extended work session focused on unspent authority (UAB) and modified supplemental amounts (MSA).
The SBRC overview covered a 10‑year historical population and expenditure review for special education, identification of questionably coded costs (transportation, curriculum, technology, capital items), and an IDEA Part B application rollout that will replace paper budgets with an online ed portal process. "We'll also be adding an AEA component yet this year," the SBRC presenter said of the new application process.
The board then held a work session on potential changes to how MSA requests are calculated and reviewed. Staff presented an alternate calculation that would account for declines in certified enrollment when computing allowable open‑enrollment MSA requests; the example presented suggested the alternate calculation could materially reduce statewide requests in December awards. The session also included five discussion statements: require districts to demonstrate need and document a board fiscal policy for unspent balances before awarding additional authority; scale down high UAB balances with phased thresholds; require districts to use teacher salary supplement (TSS) funds toward special education and EL teacher costs when making MSA requests; and allow categorical balances in flexibility accounts to discount additional MSA awards.
SBRC staff summarized the rationale for greater purposefulness: without locally documented targets and explanations, the department cannot easily compare requests. "The idea behind this is that a board would set a target... and with any request for MSA, that demonstration of need is the question they've been trying to answer," staff said.
Why it matters MSA awards and UAB balances affect district budgets and legislative oversight. The discussion focused on policy levers the SBRC could use to align awards with demonstrated local need and to reduce what staff characterized as double funding when enrollment calculations do not consider declines.
What’s next The SBRC and department will continue stakeholder outreach and modeling; the board may be asked to consider administrative rule clarifications or recommend legislative changes depending on the policy route chosen.
