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Ridgefield confirmed eligible for federal Title funding; district to receive small entitlements for 2526
Summary
The U.S. Department of Education has confirmed Ridgefield is eligible for Title funding for the 2526 school year. Staff reported modest entitlement amounts (Title I $12,712; Title II $51,864; Title III $11,719) and said funds will be drawn monthly as expenses are incurred.
Jill told the board the U.S. Department of Education confirmed Ridgefield is eligible to receive Title funding for the 2526 school year, meeting the program's minimum thresholds for local poverty and formula-eligible students.
That determination matters because it unlocks federal entitlements the district can draw down as it spends on eligible activities. "Ridgefield is indeed eligible to receive title funding for the 2526 school year," Jill said during the committee's Oct. 9 meeting.
Jill outlined the amounts the district will receive this year: Title I $12,712; Title II $51,864; Title III $11,719. She said Title IV award levels have not yet been determined. IDEA allocations were also included in the packet: IDEA 611 (K–12) and IDEA 619 (preK), and staff provided a five-year glance showing how entitlement dollars have shifted as costs rise.
Committee members asked how the grants are paid. Jill said the district uses the eGrants system to submit monthly drawdown requests that match actual expenditures; typically funds drawn by the 10th are received the first week of the following month. When asked if a federal shutdown would stop access to funds, she said eGrants was functioning and the state and federal offices were in contact; any delay would likely be small.
Jill also summarized the eligibility criteria the Education Department applies. According to the materials she cited, an LEA is eligible for Title funding when two conditions are met: (1) the town-level poverty rate meets the threshold (the district's rate was cited at 2.2%, up from 2.0 last year), and (2) at least 10 students are formula-eligible (the packet lists 114 eligible students). Those counts use the most recent demographic data available to the agency (the district's report referenced 2023 data from the U.S. Census Bureau's Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates program).
District staff said the entitlements provide a modest but useful supplement to curriculum and programming budgets for 2526. The committee received the report for review; staff said they will continue to track the Title IV amount and the IDEA allocations and will present any required budget accounting at future meetings.
