Response to 60-day Public Comments

ID: ED-2016-ICCD-0123-0015

Dec 19, 2016

Submitter Name: Scott Fuhrhop

Email: sfuhrhop@okawvillek12.org

City: Okawville

Country: United States

State or Province: IL

Category: School Administrator

Comment: The REAP money received in our district is a vital part of keeping up modern technology to keep our students in line with the ever changing world. With funds being cut each year, the only way for our schools to purchase and maintain technology is through the REAP grants. Without the annual REAP grants some classes and labs would be cut. With the cost of new technology and software rising each year any cuts to this grant would directly impact on our student learning.

SSRP Response:

The Office of School Support and Rural Programs (SSRP) appreciates your comments on the Rural Education Assistance Program’s Information Collection to Support Grant Funding (#1810-0646). 

Thank you for sharing with us the importance of the REAP program to your school district. In terms of any changes to your LEA’s award amount, the actual size of an LEA’s Small, Rural School Achievement (SRSA) award or Rural and Low-Income Schools (RLIS) award depends on several factors including: the amount of funds appropriated by Congress for REAP programs, the number of LEAs that are eligible and apply for funds, the LEA’s average daily attendance for the preceding year, and the LEA’s Title II, Part A and Title IV, Part A award amounts for the preceding fiscal year (the latter is only for LEAs that receive SRSA funds).

At this time, we do not anticipate significant changes to the total amount of funding Congress will appropriate for the REAP program for fiscal year 2017. Nevertheless, fiscal year 2017 is the start of a new authorization period, therefore award amounts may fluctuate more than they did in prior years as the Department implements the new statute.

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ID: ED-2016-ICCD-0123-0014

Dec 9, 2016

Submitter Name: Teresa Hart

Email: thart@isd698.org

City: Floodwood

Country: United States

State or Province: MN

Category: Public elementary/secondary school

Comment: The money the Floodwood School received was used to fund a reading consultant who came to work with our teachers two days a month from October to June. The consultant worked with our PK-6 teachers to implement a balanced literacy approach in reading. As a result the work with the consultant, our reading test scores did increase. We truly appreciate receiving this money to improve our school for children. Thank you.

SSRP Response:

The Office of School Support and Rural Programs (SSRP) appreciates your comments on the Rural Education Assistance Program’s Information Collection to Support Grant Funding (#1810-0646). And, thank you for sharing with us the importance of the REAP program to your school district.

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ID: ED-2016-ICCD-0123-0013

Dec 8, 2016

Submitter Name: Dawn Robbins

Email: drobbins@schoolunion93.org

City: Blue Hill

Country: United States

Category: Local educational agency

Comment: Here at School Union 93 we are very grateful to be receiving the SRSA grant. Without it, the 5 very small towns in my Union would need to make many programming cuts for students. Continuing this grant to small schools would be fantastic. Not having to apply based on our school data that has already been into the state system has been helpful. Why are we thinking we now if have to apply if the amounts we are granted will still be based on school data that has already been collected and entered into the system. Seems that may be a duplicating of efforts?
Thank you so much for allowing the opportunity to comment on this change.
Dawn Robbins
Curriculum Coordinator
School Union 93
Blue Hill, Maine 04614

SSRP Response:

The Office of School Support and Rural Programs (SSRP) appreciates your comments on the Rural Education Assistance Program’s Information Collection to Support Grant Funding (#1810-0646). 

Thank you for sharing with us the importance of the REAP program to your school district. To clarify, LEAs were required to apply for SRSA funds during the previous authorization cycle. As you know, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) was reauthorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA). As a result, all LEAs seeking an SRSA award are required to submit an application for fiscal year 2017. The Department will continue to work with State educational agencies to collect data about eligibility and award amounts. The information collected from SEAs for purposes of determining eligibility and award amounts is not the same information requested from LEAs on the application. An annual application will allow the Department to implement new provisions in the ESSA, notify grantees of eligibility and award amounts earlier in the grant award year, distribute awards to grantees as early as July 1 of each year, and ensure grantees are able to draw down grant funds from the Department’s G5 grant system immediately upon receipt of their grant award. In addition, LEAs will confirm their intent to use their SRSA funding and provide updated contact information via the annual application. The Department continues to request only the data required for making grant awards and will continue to explore avenues for reducing burden to LEAs.

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ED-2016-ICCD-0123-0012

Dec 7, 2016

Submitter Name: Steve Koch

Email: koch@usd298.com

City: Lincoln

Country: United States

Category: Principal

Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP)
I know your intent is to help rural education. However, we are already understaffed with limited resources and finances. Changing the requirements of REAP and the application is making it more difficult for rural schools. These changes will require more time to complete and keep current. I hope you will reconsider and go back to the way it has been in the past.

SSRP Response:

The Office of School Support and Rural Programs (SSRP) appreciates your comments on the Rural Education Assistance Program’s Information Collection to Support Grant Funding (#1810-0646). 

As you know, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) was reauthorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA). As a result, all LEAs seeking an SRSA award are required to submit an application for fiscal year 2017. The proposed annual application will allow the Department to implement new provisions in the ESSA, notify grantees of eligibility and award amounts earlier in the grant award year, distribute awards to grantees as early as July 1 of each year, and ensure grantees are able to draw down grant funds from the Department’s G5 grant system immediately upon receipt of their grant award. In addition, LEAs will confirm their intent to use their SRSA funding and provide updated contact information via the annual application. The total estimated annual burden per LEA for the proposed information collection is approximately 3.25 hours. The Department continues to request only the data required for making grant awards and will continue to explore avenues for reducing burden to LEAs.

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ID: ED-2016-ICCD-0123-0009

Dec 7, 2016

Submitter Name: Pamela Stiles

Email: pstiles@sau72.org

City: Alton

Country: United States

State or Province: NH

Category: Public elementary/secondary school

Comment

View document:

The REAP grant is tremendously helpful to small, rural schools with limited funds. Two items of note regarding the possible new procedures:
1. The ease of being granted the funds has been appreciated. To now have to apply for the grant, seems unnecessary, given that it is awarded based on state data. If it hasn't been a problem in the past, why change it?
2. The timing of the grant award is challenging, given that schools are not usually notified until September. If the award could be made in early July, schools would have an opportunity to plan based on the assurance of funding and use the entire year for expenditures.

We benefit greatly from the REAP grant and are very thankful that it is awarded each year.

Eric has been incredibly helpful in years past when I've had questions about funding and timing. Thank you!

Regards,

Pamela Stiles
Superintendent
Alton School District
Alton, New Hampshire

SSRP Response:

The Office of School Support and Rural Programs (SSRP) appreciates your comments on the Rural Education Assistance Program’s Information Collection to Support Grant Funding (#1810-0646). 

Thank you for your kind words about the REAP program. To clarify, LEAs were required to apply for Small, Rural School Achievement (SRSA) funds during the previous authorization cycle. As you know, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) was reauthorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA). As a result, all LEAs seeking an SRSA award are required to submit an application for fiscal year 2017. The Department will continue to work with State educational agencies to collect data about eligibility and award amounts. The information collected from SEAs for purposes of determining eligibility and award amounts is not the same information requested from LEAs on the application. An annual application will allow the Department to implement new provisions in the ESSA, notify grantees of eligibility and award amounts earlier in the grant award year, distribute awards to grantees as early as July 1 of each year, and ensure grantees are able to draw down grant funds from the Department’s G5 grant system immediately upon receipt of their grant award. In addition, LEAs will confirm their intent to use their SRSA funding and provide updated contact information via the annual application. The Department continues to request only the data required for making grant awards and will continue to explore avenues for reducing burden to LEAs.

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ID: ED-2016-ICCD-0123-0006

Dec 1, 2016

Submitter Name: Bruce Kidder

Email: kidderb@arcadia.noacsc.org

City: Arcadia

Country: United States

State or Province: OH

Category: School Administrator

Comment

Arcadia is a small rural school district in Ohio and we receive $40400 annually. The funding is used to support student used technology in the classroom. Without this assistance the district would be unable to maintain the necessary level of technology for the students.

SSRP Response:

The Office of School Support and Rural Programs (SSRP) appreciates your comments on the Rural Education Assistance Program’s Information Collection to Support Grant Funding (#1810-0646). And, thank you for sharing with us the importance of the REAP program to your school district.

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ID: ED-2016-ICCD-0123-0005

Nov 30, 2016

Submitter Name:Anonymous Anonymous

Category:Local educational agency

Comment

The SEA has all of the information needed to determine necessity for grant. Having LEAs to submit a separate application will be a duplication of effort given the amount of data we are already required to provide to the SEA. The reporting requirements by LEAs is already excessive and exhaustive. Additionally, i am not sure that the Federal Agency's time is best spent reviewing both the LEA and the SEA data to determine eligibility and amounts since the data is more than likely the same.

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ID: ED-2016-ICCD-0123-0004

Nov 8, 2016

Submitter Name: jean publiee

Category: Academic/Think Tank

Comment

the spending by this dept is completely outrageouis and far too high. it is time to cut some programs. this program can be and should be
cut from the budget. the budget fro this program should be zero. this dept is taxing American citizens so they are beign gouged
into poverty. too much spending on a non productive education system is going on. cut this program

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ID: ED-2016-ICCD-0123-0011

Dec 7, 2016

Submitter Name: Jennifer Backer

Category: School Administrator

REAP has been an integral part of the budgeting process and programming creation at Mabel-Canton Public Schools, ISD 497, Mabel, Minnesota. It is a quality grant with expectations that collaborate and balance nicely with our district goals and objectives. THANK YOU!!

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ID: ED-2016-ICCD-0123-0010

Dec 7, 2016

Submitter Name: Jennifer Backer

Category: School Administrator

Comment

View document:

REAP dollars for Lyle Public Schools, ISD 497, Lyle, Minnesota, have been appreciated, needed and embraced. The budgeting and curricular cycle processes are combined with the dollars given to Lyle Schools, through REAP. As a district, we could not do many of our student-driven activities and programs!! THANK YOU!!

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ID: ED-2016-ICCD-0123-0007

Dec 2, 2016

Submitter Name: Sara Anonymous

Category: Public elementary/secondary school

Comment

Our school is very small and remote. We have ten kids (4th-8th grade) one teacher, one aide, and less than one FTE office staff. The office/clerk already does a lot of reporting and applications -- everything from integrated pest management and healthy & safe school plans to erate filing, continuous improvement plans, and Title II narratives. We really appreciate the funding and will complete any necessary paperwork, but if the information needed for the SRSA funds can possibly be gleaned from SEAs rather than adding another application (however simple or streamlined it may be), I would ask that it be done that way. Thank you.

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ID: ED-2016-ICCD-0123-0008

Dec 5, 2016

Submitter Name: LUCKY MCCRARY

Category: School Administrator

Comment

No comment-Process is adequate.