The USDA Forest Service recently offered two online training sessions on the new payment election and title allocation processes for the latest reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) Act. This year, eligible counties will have the option to select the 1908 Act Amended or the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act (SRS) payment methodologies. This will be the first time in 10 years since eligible counties have had such a choice. Similar to the previous year, counties electing the SRS payment methodology will also be required to submit title allocations (Title I, II, and III). The Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) will collect and transmit county elections to the Forest Service. Additionally, DOLA has shared a memo, the power point from the USDA Forest Service presentations and a spread sheet illustrating how much funding would be available under the SRS vs. the 1908 Act Amended Methodology (also referred to as the 25% 7 year rolling average).
If you missed the roughly 1 hour trainings, you can go here to find the recordings: https://www.fs.usda.gov/working-with-us/secure-rural-schools
Both sessions provided the same information and covered the following topics:
- History and Legislation
- Overview of Secure Rural Schools (SRS)
- Reporting Requirements
- Infrastructure Bill
- County Fund Distribution Overview
Election Form Review