COVID-19 Business Services

School Finance and Funding

Region 17 Education Service Center is here to help and assist during COVID-19 in the following ways

ESC 17 Building Information

Following recommendations by local, state, and national authorities, ESC 17 is responding to the COVID 19 pandemic by requiring all staff to work remotely. Although our building is closed, we are committed to continuing services. As always, we will work to provide excellent customer service to our districts. We will continue to keep you updated with information as needed and we are each available by both phone and email. Please do not hesitate to contact us by phone or email during this very difficult time. Our contacts are listed at the bottom of the page.

Information Related to Schools Calendars

TEA has stated everyone is still required to meet the 75,600 Operational Minutes Rule. This may still be accomplished by applying for Missed School Day Waivers as long are you are making an effort to instruct students. Below are the links that will give guidance from TEA on how to do that.

TSDS Submissions

Class Roster - extended to April 23rd

ECDS - PK - Due June 18th

TSDS Summer PEIMS - June 18th

RFTracker- Due July 30th

TSDS Extended Year PEIMS - August 27th

Weekly PEIMS Coordinator Meeting Recordings:

April 30, 2020 Agenda

April 9, 2020-TxEIS Clients

April 2, 2020

April 2nd Agenda

Student Attendance Accounting

Districts will continue to receive funding for students as long as Missed School Day Waivers are applied for and the attestation document is submitted.

Financial Accounting

TEA has some resources for funding on the COVID-19 Guidance page. We recommend you begin tracking your district COVID-19 expenditures with a unique code in your General Fund for now. You might use 199-11-6499-00-XXX-011C19, where the C19 would be a unique code used only in the local 3-5 codes to identify expenditures as potentially reimbursable. Of course you could use local codes 1-2 or even start a separate general fund such as 191 or 198. We suggested function 11 as many items will be instructional related, and 6499 since we did not know what items might be purchased. You may want multiple accounts with different object codes so the expenditures are classified properly. We recommend you identify those expenditures in some way so if they are reimbursed and need to be moved elsewhere, it will be easier to locate the payments than if they are comingled in other budget lines.

Grants
USDE and Grants Guidance are included in a communication posted on the COVID-19 Guidance Page. Use this link to view TEA guidance document.

TEA has requested waivers under ESSA, the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA), and the Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR). TEA does not expect districts “to be able to expend federal (ESSA) funds in the remainder of the 2019-20 school year to serve the intended beneficiaries of the program areas with allowable uses of funds”. TEA will request a waiver to allow a larger percentage of carryover of funds from 2019-20 to 2020-21 school year to meet identified needs. Another waiver would extend the amount of time a district had for funds ending September 30, 2020, to liquidate federal grant fund obligations to receive goods and services interrupted by the disaster and resulting closures. Still another waiver would allow the use of federal funds to pay for a conference or activity that was cancelled in the event the fees and other items paid from federal grant funds for the event are not refunded.

Payroll

TRS:

TRS intends to provide uninterrupted service during this difficult time including payments of annuities to retirees. However, to help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus and based on the latest recommendations from the Department of State Health Services (DSHS). TRS has closed indefinitely and will reopen to the public once it is deemed safe to do so. TRS moved to remote operations during this time of closure and will continue to be available by phone and email. TRS is also working to make the forms TRS7 and TRS8 available electronically.

If your district continues to pay your staff during the closure, please remember that paid time off is the same as physically working for TRS Reporting purposes. Any paid time off must be reported as days and hours worked for both active employees as well as TRS retirees. Further, this means that if TRS retirees are paid for more than half the available hours in the month, surcharges will be due. Districts who anticipate any issues in filing reports or submitting Texnet should contact the RE Coach as soon as possible.

FAQs About TRS Reporting During COVID 19.docx

Download file

TRS security reminders:

TRS will not reach out to you to ask for personal information or for any password. TRS will not contact you to request any changes to your account. TRS will not contact you to update banking or any other personal information through email or through a telephone call. Be especially cautious when clicking on a link in an email that invokes TRS, even if the email looks legitimate. Go straight to the TRS website to access your MyTRS login portal. If something seems wrong and you suspect your TRS account has been compromised, please notify TRS immediately by calling 1-800-223-8778.

IRS:
Districts should continue to file and report employment taxes as required in Publication 15, Circular E, Employer’s Tax Guide and Publication 15-T, Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods. There has not been any extension related to regular payroll payments. In the section for COVID-19 resources below is a link to the IRS website for COVID-19 information.

Also, this is the time of year to be hyper-sensitive to requests by email for sensitive information. There are many phishing and other scams which try to lure you and your employees into giving access to sensitive financial information. Please be extra cautious in responding to emails and verify request through an outside resource before sending requested information.

TWC (some districts report through TASB-RMF)

1st Quarter report (period ending 3-31-20) Due date extended by TWC to May 15, 2020

(if your district files with TASB-RMF, your deadline is April 24, 2020)

Workshops

All workshops at ESC 17 have been cancelled through April 3. We will be adding Zoom meetings to replace the training which would have occurred. Please be watching your email as we add Zoom Training Sessions. As often as possible, the training sessions will be recorded and made accessible to our districts.

April 2, 1:00 p.m. - PEIMS Coordinator Zoom meeting

Cancelled Workshops:

March 30 - Human Resources: New Hire Processing and Procedures- cancelled; we regret we will be unable to reschedule for this year

April 2-Do's and Don'ts of GPA and Class Ranking - cancelled

April 2 - TxEIS GPA and Class Ranking - cancelled

Additional Links // Resources

TEA:

TEA Coronavirus (COVID-19) Support and Guidance web page

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) continues to work with the Office of the Governor, Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) and the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) to coordinate and plan the state’s response to COVID-19. TEA’s role in these efforts is to help coordinate the flow of information from the state to districts, help districts solve problems, and provide guidance that will aid in districts’ decision-making. TEA does not have the general authority to close schools for matters related to health. This authority lies with the local health authority, DSHS, and the Governor of Texas.

School Finance FAQ-Updated March 25th: https://tea.texas.gov/sites/default/files/School%20Finance%20FAQ_Updated%20March%2025%202020.pdf

TEA Missed School Day Waiver Guidance : https://tea.texas.gov/sites/default/files/Missed%20School%20Day%20Waiver%20Guidance_Updated%20March%2025.pdf

TEA Attestation While Open: https://tea.texas.gov/sites/default/files/instructional_continuity_attestation_while_remaining_open.pdf

TEA Attestation While Closed: https://tea.texas.gov/sites/default/files/instructional_continuity_attestation_while_closed.pdf

90% Rule Guidance: https://tea.texas.gov/sites/default/files/90_rule_guidance_march_26_2020.pdf

Guidance on Grading and Graduation Requirements: https://tea.texas.gov/sites/default/files/Guidance%20on%20Grading%20and%20Graduation%20Requirements%203.30.pdf

TASB:

Frequently Asked Questions
TASB also has some helpful postings and resources located on their HR Services site for those who are members.

Governor Abbott suspended certain provisions from the Open Meetings Act to allow school boards to meet remotely. Please review details from the OAG website at this link. Also, you may find guidance from TASB here on this new provision.

Guidance on Class Ranking, GPA and Graduation Honors: https://www.tasb.org/covid-19-resources/grading,-graduation,-and-class-rank-covid-19-faqs.pdf

TRS:

Email through secure transmission for submission of required forms: BenefitProcessingSupport@trs.texas.gov

TRS-ActiveCare Resources: Participants have access to additional support from Aetna and CVS including waived costs for all diagnostics testing for COVID-19 for patient who meeting CDC guidelines, $0 TRS Virtual Health visits, and free home delivery on all prescription medications. Find more information here.