Date:
To:
From:
Subject:
August 18, 2020
School District State Aid Designees
BOCES District Superintendents (For Information)
Storme Sing-Wai
Bureau Chief
Release of 2020-21 State Aid Management System (SAMS), including the ST-3 Annual Financial Report
Important Changes for the 2020-21 SAMS Claim Year Reporting
Form Set A – Attendance
- Form A only has a minor change in that line 86 (Total Resident Homebound/Hospitalized Students Educated at District Expense) has been eliminated; line 87 still collects that data in K-6 and G7-12 totals.
- Schedule A5 (Days of Session Matrix) Line 2 for reporting days which “Regents Basic Competency Examinations were administered” is only available for the eligible grade levels of 7-12 as per CRR 175.5.
- Another waiver for schools not meeting the 900/990 hourly requirement 2019-20 and 2020-21 SY will be available for those districts to complete in the 180 Day Calendar module. Please note that this needs to be completed, even if a waiver was requested last year.
- The 180 Days Calendar module is due when all other SAMS form sets are due.
Form Set FB – Building and Misc.
- Building Condition Survey (BCS): BCS actual and projected square footage & expenditure data should be reported on Form FB Lines 138 & 139. Please note the following restrictions:
- Only districts on SED Office of Facilities Planning 2020 BCS assignment list and NYC can apply for 2020-21 BCS aid.
- Only districts on SED Office of Facilities Planning 2020 or 2021 BCS assignment lists and NYC can report 2020-21 projections.
- Form FB Schedule W: The form for claiming aid on water testing should only include water testing expenditures in 2020-21 SAMS.
- Form FB Interest Rate Reduction Waiver Application Form: After several years of deferred implementation, the provision reducing interest rates after ten years was put in effect in 2017-18 SAMS. The information requested on this form will impact waivers for your projected and actual 2021-22 aid. Please be sure to complete this form.
Form Set FT – Transportation
The automated Bus Purchase Approval system was added to 2017-18 SAMS. Please do not submit any paper SA-16 forms to SED for buses purchased after 6/30/17. SED will not process these, as districts will be entering them into the SAMS bus purchase form.Form Set ST-3
All changes to the 2020-21 SAMS ST-3 can be found on the ST-3 Information page.
Below are some of the significant changes:
- Exhibit A layout updated to accommodate new Lines and Formulas:
- Exhibit A (Line 84a): New Line for ‘Voter Approved May Budget (not including Separate Propositions)’. The amount reported should agree with the ‘Total Budgeted Amount, not including Separate Propositions’ Proposed Budget (Column B) from the prior year’s ‘Property Tax Report Card’.
- Exhibit A (Line 85): Title and Formula changed from ‘Total Unexpended Surplus Funds divided by Total Projected General Fund Expenditures (TGFE)’ to ‘Total Unexpended Surplus Funds divided by Voter Approved May Budget (not including Separate Propositions)(line 84/84a) – Percentage’.
- Exhibit A (Line 88): New Line for ‘Total Unexpended Surplus Funds PLUS Assigned Appropriated Fund Balance (A914 + AT0994).
- Exhibit A (Line 84a): New Line for ‘Voter Approved May Budget (not including Separate Propositions)’. The amount reported should agree with the ‘Total Budgeted Amount, not including Separate Propositions’ Proposed Budget (Column B) from the prior year’s ‘Property Tax Report Card’.
- New ST-3 Edit:
- Edit 18h - Compares the ‘Voter Approved May Budget (not including Separate Propositions)’ from Exhibit A Line 84a to the ‘Total Budgeted Amount, not including Separate Propositions Proposed Budget (column B)’ from the prior year’ ‘Property Tax Report Card’. Districts will be asked to revise or provide an explanation for any differences.
- New accounts:
- Schedule A3 (Line 97): A4286 ‘CARES Act Education Stabilization Fund’ (current year and projected).
Education Stabilization Fund (ESF) – Funds will be distributed to states, schools and higher education institutions to help offset expenditures incurred due to the pandemic. Additional guidance can be found by following the links posted in SAMS Help.
- Schedule A4a, under section ‘Security of Plant’ (current year and projected):
Line 95d. Materials and Supplies A1622.45
Line 95e. BOCES Services A1622.49
- Schedule A4b, under section ‘Programs for English Language Learners (ELL)’ (current year and projected):
Line 191e Materials and Supplies A2259.45
Line 191f. Tuition Paid to Public Districts in NYS (excluding Special Act Districts) A2259.471
Line 191g. Tuition All Other A2259.472
Line 191h. Payments to Charter Schools A2259.473
Line 191i. Textbooks A2259.48
- Schedule B3, under section ‘Security of Plant’ (current year and projected):
Line 14d. Materials and Supplies F1622.45
Line 14e. BOCES Services F1622.49
- Schedule B3, under section ‘Programs for English Language Learners (ELL)’ (current year and projected):
Line 110i. Materials and Supplies F2259.45
Line 110j. Tuition Paid to Public Districts in NYS (excluding Special Act Districts) F2259.471
Line 110k. Tuition All Other F2259.472
Line 110l. Payments to Charter Schools F2259.473
Line 110m. Textbooks F2259.48
- Schedule G3, under section ‘Security of Plant’ (current year):
Line 1d. Materials and Supplies H1622.45
Line 1e. BOCES Services H1622.49
- Prior year data added and existing lines renumbered to accommodate the additions to ‘Security of Plant’ and ‘Programs for English Language Learners (ELL)’ for the Schedules noted above.
- Schedule A4b Line 178 ‘BOCES Services – English Language Learner Only’ has been removed. Data for actual and projected should be reported on Line 191e.
- Prior year data added for Schedule G2, Line 2a. Premium on Obligations.
- For Schedule SS-8 Community Schools Set Aside Line 4, ‘Allowable Health, Mental Health and Counseling, and Dental Care Services’, prior year was added for the following:
4a. School-Based Health Centers
4b. Other Health Services
4c. School-Based Mental Health Clinics
4d. Other Mental Health and Counseling Services
4e. Dental Care Services
Important Reminders
- If you issued debt between 7/1/19 and 6/30/20 for purchasing school buses, please complete and certify Form set F6 by Wednesday, September 2, 2020 even if none of your other SAMS forms are complete.
- Please check that all contact information on the SAMS entity screen is up-to-date, including extension numbers and email addresses.
Less than Eight Teacher Districts
If your district is currently classified as a "less than eight teacher" district but you anticipate the possibility of claiming State Aid and/or becoming a "major district" at any time in the near future you should begin submitting state aid claim forms now. This is because many aid calculations depend upon data from two to three prior years.
SAMS General Instructions & Passwords
SAMS can be accessed from the State Aid Web site at http://stateaid.nysed.gov or from the main New York State Education Department home page at http://www.nysed.gov (look for the Portal Login at the upper right of this page).
Districts should use SEDDAS (State Education Department Delegated Account System) to create, disable accounts or reset passwords. For procedures for a new superintendent's account/password go to http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/sedrefupdate.htm
For detailed SAMS operating instructions/training materials go to the SAMS Information Tab on the State Aid web site. The SAMS Training Manual, Frequently Asked Questions about SAMS, "Introduction to State Aid Management System" slide show and other important tips for working in SAMS can be found there.
Certification Requirements
An electronic certification form for each form set must be completed by the Superintendent to submit State Aid claim forms. By certifying a form set, the Superintendent’s action constitutes his or her official submission of that data to SED. The electronic signature is the legal equivalent of a handwritten signature.
As a reminder, an attestation was added to the SAMS ST-3 certification Affidavit of Superintendent or Chancellor: As of 2017-18 SAMS, the certification affidavit includes an attestation that the reported expenditures on ST-3 Supplemental Schedule SS-8 (Community Schools Set-aside Expenditures) will be, with the exception of CSGI Cohort 1 funds, used to supplement and not supplant district expenditures for eligible programs and services.
The Office of the State Comptroller also requires the ST-3 Annual Financial Report certification page to be completed and mailed to the address shown below. Please do not send this form to the Education Department. This form should be signed by the treasurer and returned to the Office of the State Comptroller at the following address:
Office of the State Comptroller
Local Government and School Accountability
Data Management Unit 12-8-C
110 State Street
Albany, NY 12236-0001
Attention: Edward Burgess
Timely Submission of Claim Data: INITIAL CERTIFIED SUBMISSION
- All SAMS Form Sets must be certified by September 2nd. District superintendents and public-school superintendents are requested to supervise the completion and timely submission of the aid claim and projections by the school districts for which each is responsible. Since late filing of required forms will delay payment of State Aid, every effort should be made to meet the specified due date
- Payments can take a week to prepare and are required to be submitted to the Office of the State Comptroller two weeks prior to the mandated payment date. Therefore, claims should be submitted three weeks prior to a mandated payment date (e.g., claim data must be submitted by September 25th for a payment to be made on or before October 16th in order to ensure that the payment due will be received in October).
- If all required reports are not received by September 2nd, the school district will receive automated reminders that State Aid apportionments payable to the school district, other than payments to the Teachers Retirement System on the district's behalf, will be withheld pursuant to Section 3604(11) of the Education Law pending receipt of all reports due. Automated reminders will be sent to the State Aid Designee first. Subsequent reminders will also include the school superintendent, the district superintendent, and the president of the board of education.
- Please do not wait for completion of your independent audit in order to submit your ST-3 and other claim forms! All form sets can be submitted separately, and all data can be revised multiple times after submission.
Timely Submission of Claim Data: REVISIONS AFTER CERTIFICATION
Throughout the legislative cycle each year the Governor and the Legislature use districts and BOCES State Aid claims and projections to predict the fiscal impact of various legislative proposals affecting school aid formulas. The resulting predictions of fiscal impact are only as accurate as the data that has been filed with the Education Department.
School districts and BOCES should review and revise SAMS data as necessary. Review should be timed to be consistent with Section 305(21)(b) of the Education Law which requires the Commissioner of Education to update that data used by the Governor and the Legislature on November 15, February 15 and May 15. In order for the Education Department to process all data revisions and corrections prior to each of these data updates, revisions and corrections should be submitted no later than the following specified dates
| Date of Electronic Data File Update for the Governor and Legislature | Principal Purpose of the Data File |
Revisions in the Education Department by: |
|---|---|---|
| November 15 | Executive Budget Proposal | November 1 * |
| February 15 | Budget Negotiations and Enacted Budget | January 15 |
May 15 |
Updated Enacted Budget projections and June current year aid payments. | April 15 |
*This is a deadline for revisions to already submitted claims, not the deadline for original submission, which pursuant to NYS Education Law is Wednesday, September 2nd, 2020. In addition, due to lengthier processing time, revisions to capital project costs, SA-139 forms and STAC data should be submitted by mid-October to affect the November 15th data file.
Submission of the Independent Audit Report
The report of the annual audit of the school district's records by an independent certified public accountant or an independent public accountant (Independent Audit Report) is due in the Department on October 15, 2020 for districts other than the five large dependent city school districts.
Please note that upon receipt of the Independent Audit Report, the district must reconcile its financial reports and implement any audit recommendations. Any resulting revisions to the ST-3 or the State Aid forms must be submitted via SAMS to the State Education Department.
The Independent Audit Report should be submitted using the NYSED Portal (NYSED Portal Tutorial). For more information on submission of the Independent Audit Report see the Office of Audit Service’s website.
Any questions related to submissions of the Independent Audit should be submitted to FSandSingleAudit@nysed.gov.
To verify that receipt of the independent audit has been logged into SAMS, select the "SED Only" form set from the menu, choose the Independent Audit Form and confirm that the date independent audit received has been entered by SED Audit Services.
| Questions Regarding | Please Call or email |
|---|---|
| SAMS/SAMS Problems | State Aid Office: (518) 474-2977 |
| RSU | Rate Setting Unit (518) 474-3227 |
| CPSE | STAC Unit (518) 474-7116 |
| Login/User Id Help | SEDDAS Help Desk (518) 473-8832 |
| Other Questions |
State Aid Staff Assignments Functional Directory State Aid Unit at (518) 474-2977 |