Schools Resourcing for 2011

Summary

From January 2011 most components of operational funding will be increased by 4%.

Increases in funding components

Most operational funding components will increase by 4% in 2011. These include:

• Base
• Per-pupil
• decile related funding
• Heat, Light and Water

There will be an increase of 4% to the funding available for the following components that do not go to all schools:

• Targeted Funding for Isolation (TFI)
• Secondary Tertiary Alignment Resource (STAR)
• administration and travel grants for resource teachers
• administration grant for out-of-hours music and art classes
• some miscellaneous funding for residential schools

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Quarterly roll counts

From 2011, operational funding for students in years 9 – 13, in all state and state-integrated schools, will be allocated using quarterly roll counts.

Schools affected by this policy will no longer be funded for secondary students on an annual entitlement based on a peak roll. Instead, these schools will receive four funding entitlements for the year based on four separate rolls.

The existing provisional roll process will be used for the first quarter of the year, and roll counts for the other quarters will be taken on 1 March, 1 June and 1 September.

These new roll counts will only be used to allocate operational funding. No change is being made to how schools’ staffing entitlements are calculated.

As usual, information regarding your provisional roll will be delivered in September 2010. This will include an indicative Quarter 1 funding entitlement notice. More information regarding quarterly funding will be provided at this time.

Please read the frequently asked questions below for further information. If you have any further queries, please refer to the Ministry’s budget pages or contact the Resourcing Contact Centre on 04 463 8383.

Quarterly roll counts: frequently asked questions

What does quarterly roll counts mean?

This change means that all schools with years 9 – 13 students will have quarterly operational funding entitlements for these students, rather than an annual entitlement.

Funding for each quarter will be based on an actual roll count, taken the month before (the first quarter of the year will be based on the provisional roll, and adjusted using the March roll, as is currently the case).

Which schools are affected?

All state and state-integrated schools with students in years 9 – 13 are included.

When will the roll counts be taken? When will operational funding be paid to schools?

On the first of March, June, July and September. The existing provisional roll process will be used for the January funding payment.

The existing funding payment dates will remain.

What difference will this make?

Operational funding will change each quarter if rolls change. This will mean that schools will no longer keep receiving funding for students who leave during the year. Schools that pick up students during the year will get additional operational funding accordingly.

When will this take effect?

Quarterly roll counts will be used for the first time in the 2011 school year.

When will more information be available?

Schools will receive further details when they receive their operational funding entitlement notice in September.

How will this affect schools with a mix of years 1-8 and years 9-13 students?

For the purpose of calculating a quarterly entitlement, the total roll of the school is used. However, the July roll will be used to calculate an annual entitlement for the primary aged students. A ‘wash-up’ will be done at the end of the year for these students only.

The New entrant adjust will continue to be given for the year 1 roll.

Schools in this situation will submit June and September roll returns for all year levels. However, the audit requirements for these roll returns will only apply to the years 9-13 roll.

Further detail will be provided when schools receive their operational funding notices for 2011 in September 2010.

How are boards of trustees expected to plan their annual budgets when they are not certain what their funding will be at the end of the year?

Each quarterly entitlement notice will include an estimate of what the school’s total funding will be for that year. Boards will need to factor into their financial planning how they expect their roll to change, based on their knowledge of their student population and community.

Is there any financial support available?

School operational funding is being increased by 4% in 2011. This will counterbalance the effect of quarterly roll counts on schools’ total funding. The Ministry of Education estimates that in 2011 almost all schools will receive more funding than they did in 2010.

Schools should contact their regional Ministry Financial Advisor for help with budgeting and financial management.

Will all of the new roll counts be auditable?

Yes. The Ministry could audit any of the rolls

Will the process for submitting roll returns to the Ministry change?

No, the process will remain the same. Schools should still send the Ministry their roll returns electronically using their SMS system, and some information will continue to be gathered using paper returns. Schools that do not have an SMS can continue to submit paper-based roll returns.

Will this apply to staffing?

No. This policy affects roll-based components of operational funding only.

Will schools still be able to apply for extraordinary roll growth?

There is no change to the extraordinary roll growth process for schools with students in Years 1 – 8. Extraordinary roll growth applications are unlikely to be needed for Years 9 – 13.

What happens if a school fails to submit a roll in time for the payment?

The previous roll will be used until the roll becomes available. Ultimately, the Ministry’s audit team will follow up with the school regarding any outstanding roll returns.

What timeframe do schools have for returning their rolls?

Between roll collection and entitlement payment there will be only one month. Therefore, rolls will need to be collected immediately following the roll count date. Schools will have a week to submit their roll return to the Ministry’s Data Collection Unit.

Given that schools will have to submit two new roll returns for funding purposes, will they still be required to submit staffing increases?

Yes – schools will still need to apply for staffing increases. The process and calculation of staffing entitlements will not be affected by this policy.

Who do I contact for further information?

Anyone with questions should contact the Ministry of Education’s Resourcing Contact Centre on 04 463 8383.

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Cash reimbursements for unused staffing

Currently, schools that overuse their staffing entitlement must repay the Ministry of Education for the amount overused. However, if a school uses less than its full entitlement, the amount left over is lost to them.

To ensure that schools get the resources they are entitled to, schools will receive a cash reimbursement for roll-based staffing and additional staffing that they haven’t been able to use by the end of the staffing year. This change takes effect this year. This means that schools will receive the first payments in 2011, after the end of the 2010 staffing year.

This will be limited to a maximum of 10% of each school’s total roll based and additional staffing.

The ‘reimbursement rate’ for unused staffing will be set by the Ministry of Education at the end of each staffing year.

Please read the frequently asked questions below for further information. If you have any further queries, please refer to the Ministry’s budget pages or contact the Resourcing Contact Centre on 04 463 8383.

Unused staffing: frequently asked questions

What are cash reimbursements for unused staffing?

Each year schools are given a staffing entitlement, which is the number of teachers they are entitled to employ. The Ministry of Education then pays the teachers’ wages. Sometimes schools are unable to employ as many teachers as they are entitled to.

Cash reimbursements for unused staffing means that if a school hasn’t used up all of its entitlement for the year, they will receive some cash back for the amount left over. This is similar to the existing process when schools use more than their staffing entitlement, where schools have to pay the Ministry back.

How will the underuse be calculated?

When calculating a school’s underuse for the purpose of cash reimbursements, the Ministry will compare the school’s usage with it roll based staffing plus any additional staffing to which the school is entitled. The calculation of cashed up staffing will NOT compare the school’s usage with its GMFS/Assured level of staffing. In this way, the process for recovering overused staffing differs from the process for cashing up unused staffing.

When will this take effect?

This policy takes effect this year. This means that the first payments will be received by schools after the end of this staffing year, which finishes in March 2011.

How much money will schools receive for each FTTE they have left over?

The reimbursement rate will be set at the end of the staffing year, when payments to schools are calculated.

Are schools expected to do anything differently in response to this change?

No. Schools are still expected to try and use all of their staffing entitlement by employing registered teachers. Quality teachers make the biggest difference to student achievement.

The purpose of this change is to make things more fair for schools that are genuinely unable to use up their entitlement.

Schools should not deliberately underuse staffing in order to get additional operational funding. The reimbursement rate will not be set until the end of the staffing year, so schools cannot be certain of how much they will receive per unused FTTE. Note: schools will not yet be able to see their underuse in relation to cashed up staffing. This is because cashed up staffing will be based on the school’s roll based entitlement and not their assured/GMFS level of staffing.

What does this mean for banking staffing and the balancing period?

No changes are being made to banking staffing or the balancing period.

When will more information be available?

More detail about this policy will be provided to schools in September.

Schools will be informed of the reimbursement rate, and how much they will be receiving if they haven’t used up all of their staffing entitlement, after the end of the staffing year, which finishes in March 2011.

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Heat, light and water funding

In 2010 and 2011, every school’s heat, light and water funding will be fixed at the amount it was informed of in September 2009 (plus the 4% increase being applied to all components of operational funding in 2011).

Some schools may face large increases to their energy costs for reasons outside of their control, for example the addition of new classrooms to the school site. The Ministry of Education can provide support for schools in exceptional circumstances. You should contact the Resourcing Contact Centre for further information.

Please read the frequently asked questions below for further information. If you have any further queries, please refer to the Ministry’s Budget 2010 pages or contact the Resourcing Contact Centre on 04 463 8383.

Heat, light and water funding - frequently asked questions

What is changing about heat, light and water (HLW) funding?

Schools used to receive HLW funding according to their actual energy costs. This will no longer happen.

In 2010 and 2011, schools will receive the amount of HLW funding they were informed of in September 2009 (plus the 4% increase being applied in 2011).

A new allocation method will be introduced in 2012.

How are schools expected to manage increases in power prices?

All components of the operational grant are being increased by 4% in 2011, including Heat Light and Water.

What will the new allocation method be for this funding in 2012?

The new allocation method is yet to be confirmed, but the intention is that it will reward schools who manage their energy usage efficiently.

Are there exceptions?

No, all state and state-integrated schools are included.

What about cost increases above inflation?

This is an interim measure until a new allocation methodology is in place in 2012. Schools will receive a 4% increase in 2011 to cover increased costs due to inflation.

Is financial support available for schools with big cost increases?

The Ministry of Education can provide support in exceptional circumstances, for example if a school has had new classrooms added to it site and so has bigger power bills. Additional support is not available for schools that simply have increased expenditure.