ESSER Public Plan 

Federal Relief Spending

DISTRICT:  Hamblen County                                                          

Public Plan - Federal Relief Spending

In response to COVID-19, the US Congress passed several pieces of legislation that sent billions in relief funding to states. Tennessee received $4.2 billion for K-12 funding to be spent before 2024. This is the district’s plan for spending, in compliance with federal law.

GENERAL INFORMATION

STUDENTS AND ENROLLMENT

ACCOUNTABILITY

FUNDING

Other Academics

STUDENT READINESS

Tennessee school will be equipped to serve the academic and non-academic needs of all students by developing robust career pathway opportunities and connecting students to real-time support.  this includes investments in articulated pathways for all students, innovative high schools linked to career opportunities and advanced coursework, and specialized supports for students who need them.  

Description of strategic allocations to support Student Readiness and the School-related Supports necessary to access high-quality instruction, including how allocations support the investments identified in the district's needs assessment:

Hamblen County is investing a significant amount of funding into the social, emotional, physical and psychological health of our students and their families.  Our summer programs are designed to keep students and families engaged in learning and address nutritional needs.  Our students will have greater access to licensed social workers workers, especially in our elementary schools, school nurses, and other adult mentors.  Working closely with our juvenile court system, we will provide a liaison for students and families to help address their needs with support of external agencies.  We are also investing significantly in CTE programs of study that support the jobs data in our region.  We will establish at least three new programs that will allow us to provide greater opportunities for students as well as address social distancing concerns.  The district has also been selected for the Innovative High School Models program.  This grant will provide $2 million for career readiness initiatives in the district.  These initiatives include close partnerships with many of our industries in the region.  We have also registered for the AP Access for All programs with Niswonger Foundation.  We believe this will open up additional opportunities for our high school students to be better prepared for postsecondary education. 

MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL OPPORTUNITIES

SPECIAL POPULATIONS

OTHER: STUDENT READINESS

EDUCATORS

Tennessee will set a new path for the education profession.  This includes investments in Grow Your Own programs, educator networks and pathways, and strategic compensation and recruitment efforts.

Description of strategic allocations to Recruit, Retain and Support Educators and School Personnel, including how allocations support the investments identified in the district's needs assessment:

Stipends for Certified Staff: We are requesting approval for a one time stipend of $1,000 for all certified staff in our ESSER 3.0 application. Cost of Living Raise: For our 2021-22 General Budget, we are recommending a 3% raise for all staff. The budget is pending County Commission approval, which we expect. Currently, we rank at the top for employee healthcare in the state and in the top 25 districts for salaries and wages. We feel that salaries and benefits are crucial in both retaining and recruiting high quality personnel.

Participating in Grow Your Own?                                                                     YES

Participating in Aspiring Assistant Principal Network?                                 YES

Participating in Diverse Leaders Network?                                                       NO

Participating in Rural Principal Network?                                                        YES

Participating in Turnaround Principal Network?                                               NO

Participating in Principal Supervisor Network?                                                 NO

Participating in TASL Academics?                                                                     YES

Participating in TDOE Special Education and ESL 

  additional endorsement grants?                                                                       YES

Using the TN Teacher, Substitute and/or Teacher Job Connect

and Job Board?                                                                                                      YES

Encouraged participation in or actively utilized Best For All Central?            YES

OTHER: EDUCATORS

FOUNDATIONS

Description of strategic allocations to Strengthen Structural Expectations, including how allocations support the Investments Identified in the district's needs assessment:

The challenges we have faced in Hamblen County since March 2020 have been around providing quality instruction in a distance learning environment, internet connectivity for many of our families, meals for students, staff and student health and safety in our schools, and keeping parents and the community informed of events, decisions, cancellations, services available, and how to access those services. For the 2020-21 school year, we started instruction, both in person and virtual, on September 8, 2020. All of our schools remained open throughout the school year, though we have experienced periods when the Covid-19 cases have spiked. The district and schools have worked hard this school year to provide quality online and in person instruction to keep gaps from widening and to accelerate learning. Substantial resources have been dedicated to ensuring students and families have everything they need to be successful in both in-person and virtual environments.

Participated in the TDOE device grant program?                                                                                 YES

Participated in the TDOE connectivity grant?                                                                                       YES

Participating in the TDOE-T-Mobile partnership to increase high-speed Internet?                        YES

OTHER

Contingency Plans:  Infrastructure Bill Passes and/or Initiatives with Remaining Funds

If a federal infrastructure bill passes, LEAs could receive an amount similar to that received under ESSER 2.0.  Should this pass, districts may need to shift funds previously budgeted for infrastructure in ESSER 1.0, 2.0 and/or 3.0 to this new funding source.  Therefore, LEAs should have contingency plans for how they would spend the balance remaining in ESSER funds.  This will provide transparency for decision-making and allow for LEAs to make changes quickly, having already communicated intent, and limit concerns related to reversion of funds.  This could also be used as contingency funding for projects that are unspent or underspent.

Monitoring, Auditing and Reporting

The LEA should outline how they will actively monitor their allocations; how they will conduct interim audits to ensure an appropriate application of funds; how they will collect and manage data elements required to be reported; and how they will report this information to the community. As a note, the department will be releasing guidance for required elements at the state and federal levels once clarified by the U.S. Department of Education. The department recognizes that this will be a significant requirement and strongly encourages districts to allocate at least 1% of their funding capacity toward monitoring, auditing and reporting. LEAs should outline their plans for this work in the space below.

The Hamblen County Department of Education has developed processes of internal control in order to provide reasonable assurance that these objectives will be achieved: -Ensure the reliability and integrity of financial information -Promote effective and efficient operations -Ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations, contracts, grant agreements, and budgetary limitations -Safeguard assets -Accomplish organizational goals and objectives The Hamblen County Department of Education believes an effective internal control framework is essential to achieving these objectives. Effective internal controls also limit the opportunity for theft or unauthorized use of assets, including liquid assets, inventory, and capital assets. As per OMB guidance, the Hamblen County Department of Education has implemented a system of internal control in accordance with internal control standards published by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) in the Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government (Green Book). The Hamblen County Department of Education Internal Control and Compliance Manual adheres to the five (5) components and 17 principles as set forth in the State of Tennessee's Internal Control Manual for Local Government Entities and Other Audited Entities in Tennessee  (Internal Control Manual), which is based on the GAO Green Book.  In order to support and maintain internal controls with regard to ESSER funding, our district will employ 1.0 FTE bookkeeper and .05 FTE of another bookkeeper through indirect cost. These employees, along with existing district finance employees, will be responsible for maintaining thorough documentation and authorization practices. All required documentation of expenditures will be uploaded to ePlan for reimbursement purposes. Separate accounting records will be maintained for each grant received. Bank reconciliations will be performed each month by a Federal Programs Bookkeeper. A cash reconciliation of all federal programs will be performed each month by the Supervisor of Business. Monthly financial reports will be generated each month for management and the school board. All documentation will be maintained separately and in an orderly manner for each ESSER grant received. In order to create cash flow and maintain compliance with 2 CFR § 200.305, the Hamblen County Department of Education has placed $1,500,000 into a Federal Fund reserve. $500,000 of the reserve is permanent, while $1,000,000 was transferred in July 2021 to create cash flow specifically for new federal funding through ESSER. This transfer will allow the district to operate on a reimbursement only basis.

Family and Community Engagement

The LEA should outline how they plan to meaningfully engage with families and communities throughout the life of the ESSER and other relief funds.

We will engage our stakeholders through the following programs, most of which have been in place for a number of years.

-Community Forums

-Parent Advisory Group: Monthly

-Student Advisory Group: Monthly

-Teacher Forums

-Early Literacy (K-2) Working Group

-Principal Meetings: Monthly

-Social Media Postings Soliciting Parent, Community, and Advocacy Group feedback

-District Web Site Postings Soliciting Parent and Community Input

-Meetings with Advocacy Groups

There are no Tribes located in Hamblen County. Our largest underserved group is our Hispanic/EL population (29%/14%). Their most influential advocacy group, HOLA Lakeway, has a number of members who are Hamblen County Schools employees and we have worked closely with them on the development of this plan.

The public forums and School Board Meetings have been essential to receiving quality stakeholder input. The discussions between members of the community, board members, and district staff have been invaluable in formulating policies and guidelines that address stakeholder concerns and needs for the coming school year. Our approach in soliciting feedback for ARP ESSER was to talk to as many people in our community as possible rather than depending on a blanket survey. We have reached out to the community in general on our web site and on social media and received some feedback. We will continue to do so as we move through the next school year.  The Dept. of Children Services here in our county has been an advocate for foster children and children coming back into the district from facilities around the state. Their recommendations have been seriously considered and adopted where feasible in this and other grants we are currently applying for.