It’s a mouth full and its an annual ritual for the Unified School District 428 School board. But the approval of Local Consolidated Plan Allocation is important to the school system, Superintendent Khris Thexton said Monday night.

In a nutshell, the LCP is the federal funding that flows through the state and into district coffers via Title funds, Thexton said. This is money the district spends and  then is reimbursed for afterwards.

The 2017-2018 LCP totals $1,171,074, which compares to a prior-year total of $1,214,334. “This is down about $40,000,” Thexton said

The reduction comes primarily from the Title I funding for such things as educational and migratory programs. But, there was a modest increase in Title IV, which covers areas like academic enrichment and safe school programs.

The individual amounts include:

• Title I A – Improving Education Programs, $810,546

• Title I C – Migratory Programs, $162,000

• Title II A – Supporting Effective Instruction, $120,757

• Title III A – English Learner and Immigrant Programs, $54,982

• Title IVA – Grants for Student Support, $22,789 

              and Academic Enrichment, $53,568 

With a total budget of around $61 million, the LCP money may not seem like a lot. But, “it does make a difference,” Thexton said.

The Title funds help pay teacher salaries and for student services, he said. “If it gets cut here, you always have to find it somewhere else.”

This is not an isolated incident, Thexton said. “We are continuing to see a reduction in federal funds.”

Over the past few years, the total has been cut 5-10 percent annually. “We just kind of roll with it,” he said.