Glossary of Negotiations Terms
Ending Fund Balance: The unappropriated ending fund balance is the amount budgeted for unanticipated significant occurrences such as a natural disaster, fire, or other disruption to District operations. A contingency can be established in order to address unexpected expenditures in the day-to-day operations of the District such as building maintenance, increased staffing, and additional purchased services and supplies. The unappropriated ending fund balance and contingency are generally combined to state the ending fund balance for the District.
ESSER: ESSER stands for Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund. The U.S. Department of Education (USED) awarded ESSER Fund grants to state educational agencies for the purpose of providing local educational agencies with emergency relief funds to address the impact that COVID-19 has had, or continues to have, on elementary and secondary schools.
Levy: An operation levy is a voter-approved measure for support of the day-to-day operations (such as staffing) of the District. This is different from a bond levy which is voter-approved for renovations and new construction projects.
PERS Pick Up: Prior to 1979, state employees paid 6% of their salary towards PERS. In 1979, during bargaining, the State and the union agreed that the State would begin paying the 6% into employees PERS accounts, which increased employee’s take-home pay even though salary rates remained the same because employees no longer had to pay the 6% out-of-pocket.
Rather than the state continuing to “pick up” the 6% by paying it directly into an employee’s PERS individual account program (IAP), these funds were transferred back to the employee’s pay and then the contributions, as a pre-tax deduction, are sent into the employee’s PERS IAP.
SIA: SIA stands for Student Investment Account. The Student Investment Account is a part of the state of Oregon’s Student Success Act funding. SIA funds can be used by districts to meet students’ mental or behavioral health needs and to increase academic achievement for students, including reducing academic disparities for:
- Economically disadvantaged students;
- Students from racial or ethnic groups that have historically experienced academic disparities;
- Students with disabilities;
- Students who are English language learners;
- Students who are foster children;
- Students who are homeless; and
- Any other student groups that have historically experienced academic disparities, as determined by the State Board of Education.
Title 1-A: The purpose of Title I, Part A, is to provide all children an opportunity to receive a fair, equitable, and high-quality education. Title I, part A of ESSA provides financial assistance to districts and schools that serve a larger population of children from families experiencing poverty. By providing additional resources, the program is intended to ensure that all students have access to academically enriching curriculum and meet the state’s challenging academic standards. Schools that receive this funding are referred to as Title 1 schools.