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U.S. Department of Education REAP team explains who qualifies for SRSA and how awards are calculated
Summary
REAP presenters outlined SRSA eligibility (LEAs must be both small and rural), the simplified award formula ((ADA−50)×100 + $20,000), $20,000–$60,000 initial award range, and the ratable adjustment that scales awards to appropriations and applicant counts.
Jordan Haydel, a program officer on the Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP) team at the U.S. Department of Education, opened the orientation by saying the session’s purpose was to help local educational agencies implement their Small Rural School Achievement (SRSA) grants.
Lainie, who led the SRSA overview, summarized the program’s eligibility rules and the mechanics by which awards are calculated. “An LEA is small if its ADA is under 600 or if it's located in a county with a population density of less than 10 persons per square mile,” she said. She added that LEAs qualify as rural when all schools in the district carry NCES rural locale codes 41–43 or when a state notifies the Department that an LEA should be considered rural for SRSA purposes.
On award amounts, Lainie walked through REAP’s simplified initial-award formula: take an LEA’s average daily attendance, subtract 50, multiply the remainder by 100, then add $20,000. “The minimum initial SRSA award amount is $20,000 and the maximum is $60,000,” she said. The presenter also noted that an LEA’s Title II-A and Title IV-A allocations are factored in when finalizing annual SRSA awards.
Lainie emphasized the ratable adjustment, a post-application scaling step that reconciles the universe of applicants with the total appropriations for a fiscal year. She said the ratable adjustment is the primary reason a grantee’s final award may differ from the spring estimates posted on the Master Eligibility Spreadsheet (MES).
Why it matters: SRSA is intended to supplement other ESEA-based school-improvement funds for very small, rural districts. Knowing whether an LEA meets the small-and-rural thresholds and how the formula and ratable adjustment operate helps district leaders set realistic budget expectations for the grant year.
Next steps: REAP publishes the MES after eligibility determinations so LEAs can verify their data; REAP then emails personalized SRSA application invitations to eligible LEAs in the spring and finalizes cohorts in May–June before awarding funds July–September.
