DOE Entitlement Grants

Dear ASE members,

Entitlement Grants are due (submitted) to DOE by June 25th, funds must be approved by DOE by September 1st, 2004- money can not be spent before the approval of the funds from DOE.

DOE will try to get the "Allocations" information to towns within the next few weeks.

Current grants go through August 31st, 2004.

See multiple official DOE memos below for more information on the subject of the current grant alert.

Thanks,
Carla Jentz, Executive Director
ASE

1) Grants and Other Financial Assistance Programs: FY2005

Memorandum

To: Superintendents of Schools, Charter School Leaders, School Business Managers, and other Grant Recipients 
From: Mark K. McQuillan, Deputy Commissioner of Education 
Date: May 13, 2004 
Subject: Alert Regarding FY05 Grant Awards 

The grant application season is upon us! Two important matters related to state and federal grant procedures are discussed below. Please read this memorandum carefully and make sure that the person(s) in charge of grants in your agency is aware of this information.

We want to remind grant recipients of requirements that govern the period for expending state, federal, and other grant funds. Grant recipients may not expend "in anticipation" of the receipt of grant awards from the Department. We have been advised that the state auditors may be reviewing this area in future audits of Department subgrant recipients and that certain past practices by grant recipients may be found to be audit exceptions. Consequently, meeting the June 25th due date for grant submissions and having someone in your office available over the summer to discuss grant issues, as outlined below, are very important.

The recent practice of "partial advance funding" for federal entitlement programs -- including No Child Left Behind Titles I - V, special education (IDEA), and Perkins grant programs -- affects the manner in which the Department can issue initial federal grant payments. This may result in initial FY05 grant awards that are less than anticipated. The Department will adjust awards to correct levels after September 30, 2004.

815 CMR: Comptroller's Division -- 815 CMR 2:00: Grants and Subsidies

In accordance with state finance regulation 815 CMR 2:00, section 2.05, (4)(b), Grant Effective Start Date, grant recipients may expend state, federal, and other grant funds only as of the date their grant (the Standard Contract Form) was executed by the "authorized signatory of the Department." In the case of the Department of Education, this means the date that the grant is entered as approved into the Department of Education's grants management system. 

Therefore, if a grant recipient wishes to expend funds as of a certain start date, the Department must have approved officially the application prior to that start date. Recipients may not use local funds to cover initial costs for a grant prior to the approved Grant Effective Start Date, with the intent to reimburse themselves after the grant has been approved officially. Audit exceptions, leading to the return of misused funds, may be taken for any grant funds used for periods prior to or after the approved duration dates stated by the Department in box 3 in the official Payment Notification form (see Sample Payment Notification form: [ WORD | PDF ]).

Recipients wishing to expend federal entitlement grant funds as of September 1, 2004 are advised to:

Submit grant applications for the full entitlement amounts (or for the amount advised by the Department program unit if allocations are not yet available) by the due date stated in the Request for Proposals. For the majority of the FY05 federal entitlement grants, the due date is June 25, 2004. 

In July and August, have a local grant contact person available to respond immediately to any grant questions the Department reviewers may have and make required changes needed for final approval. This is necessary due to the large number of applications the Department will be receiving in June and the need to have them ready for approval by early August. The Department will develop a standard process of notifying the Superintendent, Charter School Leader, or other agency official of any contacts made to the identified local contact person to insure that the district is informed of any possible delays in the approval process. 

By the due date established by the Department, sign and return the Grant Assurances Document that the Department will send to districts in May.

Federal Grant Appropriation System

Due to the recent federal practice of "partial advance funding" for entitlement programs, including No Child Left Behind Titles I - V, special education (IDEA), and Perkins grant programs, the Department will receive an initial FY 2005 award letter in July from the United States Department of Education (USED) authorizing the distribution of a portion of each federal grant through September 30, 2004. As a result, the Department must make adjustments to the initial allocations and first payments that are sent to recipients. The Department will receive a second award letter from USED for the balance of the allocations in early October and, at that time, will adjust allocations to the correct levels.

Therefore, for federal grants with September 1 start dates:

The Department will prorate initial allocations to recipients in amounts not to exceed that received from USED. These amounts will vary from program to program depending on the actual percentage the Department receives in the July awards for the programs. The initial award letter issued from Grants Management will indicate a reduced total award amount, as well as a prorated initial payment. For grants approved prior to September 1, this initial award letter will be for the full year grant period of 9/1/04 - 8/31/05.

The Department expects to receive the allocation balances from USED in early October, and recipients may submit requests for second payments by mid-October according to program need. Adjustments to the allocation amounts will be done at the Department. Recipients will not need to do amendments to their grants. Federal and state cash management requirements that grant funds be distributed on an as needed basis are still in effect. Third and fourth quarter payments should be requested in the standard manner.

Upon receipt of a recipient's second payment request, the Department will issue an updated award notice, reflecting the full award amount.

Should you have any questions or wish further information, please contact Grants Management at 781-338-6557. 


2) In today's superintendents' mailing will be an "Alert Regarding FY05 Grant Awards" --- it affirms the requirement that grant money may not be expended before it is approved here at the Department and then can only be expended as of the date of our approval --- so no late applications will be funded retroactively. 

This means that it is imperative that schools get grant applications in on time and have staff available in July and August to resolve any problems with the application so that funding and spending can begin promptly as of September one. Please make sure that your membership is aware of this alert and gets their grant applications in promptly.

Thanks.

Marty


3) Commissioner's Update [Excerpts]
May 21, 2004
Dear Superintendents, and Leaders of Charter Schools and Collaboratives:

In this May 20th Update I have seven announcements and six items posted at www.doe.mass.edu.

State and Federal Grant Procedures
Changes at the state and federal levels have resulted in the Department of Education's need to dramatically modify the way grant funds are issued. As a result, all school districts will need to make administrative changes to the submittal of grants by June 25, 2004. To receive continued funding, districts must observe the timelines described in the attached memorandum. Please review this memorandum carefully and discuss immediately with your administrators and grant writers. The memo is at http://finance1.doe.mass.edu/Grants/grants05/rfp/1_alert.html.

...

Update on Title IIA: Improving Teacher Quality Grant Allocations for Districts
We are awaiting news of federal Title IIA: Improving Educator Quality allocation for Massachusetts that will be used to determine district allocations. The estimated FY05 allocation for Massachusetts is 5 percent less than last year's Title IIA allocation and roughly equal to the allocation received in FY03. For planning purposes, districts should use as their base the combined FY02 allocations for the federal Eisenhower and Class Size Reduction grants and as their cap, they should use the FY03 Title IIA allocation. The expectation is that district allocations for FY05 will fall within that range, though more likely closer to the FY03 amount. Please note that this assumption is based on the estimated state allocation, which could possibly change. Also note that a portion of the funds is allocated based on population and low income, which can change from year to year.

The allocations will be sent to districts as soon as they are available. If you would like to submit your Title IIA application before receiving your official allocation, you may do so using the estimated allocation formula above. Adjustments to the budgets will be made once the official allocations are received. Please keep in mind that although Title IIA grant applications may be submitted on a rolling basis, it is recommended that you submit them by June 25, 2004. Applications that are approved on or after September 1, 2004 may legally claim expenses to the grant from the date of final Department approval only. If you have questions regarding Title IIA, please contact Kristin LaMonica (781-338-3237 / klamonica@doe.mass.edu) or Holly Grzeskowiak (781-338-3236 / hgrzeskowiak@doe.mass.edu).