The Greenwood Leflore Consolidated School District’s superintendent says the district has made the Dec. 1 deadline for submitting necessary paperwork for some state funding.
At its Nov. 30 board meeting, the school board and Superintendent James Johnson-Waldington were unclear on whether a letter asking the Mississippi Department of Education to consider previous student attendance and other data — which provides information for state funding — had been sent ahead of the Dec. 1 deadline.
Thursday afternoon, Johnson-Waldington said in a phone interview that he had spoken with Lakenya Thomas, the district’s business manager, first thing Thursday morning and sent the letter to MDE around 8:30.
Last year, the district missed the Dec. 1 deadline to submit the Mississippi Adequate Education Program waiver request, costing the district $2.8 million in potential funding for the children.
The waiver asks the state to consider data from previous years if the district feels an adverse situation, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, has affected enrollment and attendance numbers.
Because some state funding is awarded based on these numbers, it is advantageous for districts to utilize this possibility, Johnson-Waldington said.
“We need all the money we can get if our kids are going to be successful. We have to do what we need to make it happen,” he said.
He added that, to prevent the district missing the deadline in the future, he will meet with the district’s student information and business office personnel to coordinate a list of deadlines for both offices.
- Contact Katherine Parker at 662-581-7239 or kparker@gwcommonwealth.com.
