American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
Maintenance of Effort – Title I

Is Maintenance of Effort about how much in federal money you received or spent?
Maintenance of Effort is not about how much in federal money you received or spent. It’s about how much you spent in state and local money from one year to the next.

How does this apply to Maintenance of Effort – Title I?
For all NCLB programs, MOE is a 90% requirement. This calculation is done each year as part of the district’s F-196 financial statements and is referred to as the “Cross-cutting maintenance of effort test”.

• Districts pass, if either of the following is met:
  - If total state and local dollars spent is 90% of previous year
  OR
  
• The per pupil amount of state and local dollars spent is 90% of previous year (takes into account enrollment reductions)

Federal programs that are impacted by this test include:

• Title I, Part A
• Title I, Part B, Subpart 3, Even Start;
• Title I, Part D, Prevention and Intervention Programs for Children and Youth who are Neglected, Delinquent, or At-Risk;
• Title I, Part F, Comprehensive School Reform;
• Title II, Part A, Improving Teacher Quality State Grants;
• Title II, Part D, Educational Technology State Grants;
• Title III, Part A, English Acquisition State Grants;
• Title IV, Part A, Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities;
• Title IV, Part B, 21st Century Learning Centers; and
• Title VI, Part B, Subpart 2, Rural Education.

For school year 2008-2009, the Maintenance of Effort – Title I test was:

• In school year 2007-2008, did the district spend at least 90% (either in total dollars or per pupil) of what it spent in school year 2006-2007?
• A district that fails (very few!) has their school year 2008-2009 federal grants reduced by the amount of the fail.