Baltimore City Public Schools receive Concentration of Poverty (CPG) funds via the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future legislation, commonly called the Blueprint. Schools annually receive grants via the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) based on a calculation of the number of students living in poverty.
CPG funding is designed to target educational resources to neighborhoods and schools with the highest concentrations of poverty, recognizing that those schools have more needs for student and family support.
These funds ensure each of our schools has one full-time community school coordinator and provides school health services. After meeting grant requirements and the centralized plans, our schools use the remainder of their CPG allotments to provide students and families with programs such as fine arts programs, extracurricular supports, athletics, and much more.
Concentrations of Poverty Spending Overview – FY20 through FY23
Personnel Grant (CPG)—A flat amount per school that must be used to cover a Community School Coordinator and ensure that every school has a registered nurse**. Funding that remains after these two positions have been filled may be used to support critical programming like art, music, world languages, and library, and for wraparound support aligned with the areas outlined in the legislation.
Fiscal Year 2020 | Fiscal Year 2021 | Fiscal Year 2022 | Fiscal Year 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Poverty Rate cut point for Eligibility | 80% | 75% | 70% | 65% |
Number of Schools eligible for CPG | 115 | 121 | 123 | 122 |
Per School Amount | $248,833 | $248,833 | $248,833 | $259,831 |
CPG Personnel Grant Allocation | $28,615,795 | $30,108,793 | $30,606,459 | $31,699,382 |
Community School Coordinator Expenditures | $5,593,724.63 | $6,503,319.92 | $7,109,971.89 | $8,152,045.24 |
Nursing Expansion Expenditures* | $316,082.41 | $1,901,223.56 | $71,509.46 | $1,603,712.85 |
Expenditures for Wraparound Support | $22,705,987.96 | $21,590,587.94 | $23,424,977.65 | $21,943,623.91 |
*While $3M was budgeted annually, due to significant challenges in hiring additional RNs, funds not expended by BCHD for the expansion of RN coverage were repurposed to wraparound support for student
Overview of Concentration of Poverty Per Pupil Grant (CPG-PP)
Per Pupil Grant (CPG-PP) – School-level per pupil amount is dependent upon the year the school became eligible for this portion of the grant and the CPG poverty rate for the school. The per pupil amount is phased in over seven years of eligibility for a school. All funds must be used to support critical programming like art, music, world languages, and library, and provide allowable wrap-around support.
Fiscal Year 2020 | Fiscal Year 2021 | Fiscal Year 2022 | Fiscal Year 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Poverty Rate cut point for Eligibility | N/A | N/A | 75% | 70% |
Number of Schools eligible for CPG | N/A | N/A | 103 | 108 |
Per Student Amount (Dependent on year of eligibility and CPG poverty rate of school) | N/A | N/A | Year 1 = $539.91 | Year 1 = $473.48 |
CPG Personnel Grant Allocation | N/A | N/A | $22,485,375 | $50,300,926 |
UPDATE: New state rules regarding expenditures
Since the 2019-2020 school year, City Schools has received more than $427 million in Concentration of Poverty grants. On average, City Schools has spent about 99.3 percent of those funds annually since the 2020-2021 school year. The total allotment is scheduled to be fully spent in 2023-2024.
For the 2022-23 school year, City Schools spent all but $997,000 of more than $82 million of its CPG grant allotments. A recent change in Maryland law now allows unspent grant funds to be carried over and used the following school year. City Schools plans to carry over its funds and use them next year in ways allowed by law.
Between 2020-2023, City Schools spent an average of 99.3 percent of its CPG funds. By comparison, eight other Maryland school districts have much larger percentages of unspent funds based on a recent report on unspent CPG funds by the state Office of the Inspector General for Education (OIGE).
25% | 27% | 0.07% |
|---|---|---|
Average percentage of unspent CPG personnel grant funds by 8 Maryland school districts from FY 2020-22. | Average percentage of unspent CPG per-pupil grant funds by 8 Maryland school districts from FY 2020-22. | Average percentage of unspent CPG personnel and per-pupil grant funds by City Schools from FY 2020-22. |
From 2020 to 2022, City Schools spent its CPG funds more efficiently than eight Maryland school districts combined.
Where CPG funds make a difference
The Concentrations of Poverty legislation allows up to half of the CPG funds to be administered centrally by school districts to create and implement a central plan. As part of City Schools’ central plan, the school system has used those funds for wraparound supports outlined in the legislation, including (NOTE: dollar amounts are rounded; this list is not exhaustive of spending):
Ensuring that all traditional schools have at least one full-time social worker. -$4.6 million
Funding one of two staff positions at the pre-kindergarten Judy Centers. - $2.3 million
Supporting attendance and positive school climates by funding district-level attendance positions, school-based wholeness specialists, and vendors providing mentoring support. - $3.4 million
Supporting CPG schools with filling teacher vacancies by funding the Teach for America and Baltimore City Teacher Residency programs and new teacher professional development and support. - $1.6 million
City Schools purchased five small buses to support students getting to school and, as a resource, CPG-eligible schools to access field trip transportation. - $313,000
In addition, campuses in City Schools have invested nearly $67 million in CPG funds on school-level positions since 2020 that support core academic programming and provide wraparound services and enrichment for our students. For the 2022-23 school year alone, this includes:
92 | 72 | 63 | 51 | 37 |
temporary staff members | Fine Arts teachers | intervention teachers | paraprofessionals | educational associates |
33 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 4 |
literacy coaches | physical education teachers | library media specialists | guidance counselors | computer science/technology teachers |
Overview of CPG and CPG-PP Spending for School Programming
Fiscal Year 2020 | Fiscal Year 2021 | Fiscal Year 2022 | Fiscal Year 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
CPG PP Funds | $22,705,987.96 | $21,590,587.94 | $23,424,977.65 | $21,943,623.91 |
CPG Personnel Grant Allocation | N/A | N/A | $22,485,375.00 | $50,300,926.00 |
Total Available for Wraparound Supports | $22,705,987,96 | $21,590,587.94 | $45,910,352.65 | $72,244,549.91 |
How CPG benefits our students, families, and schools
Click the sections below for information on this important resource: