Grant Procedures

Grant Procedures

A grant represents funds requested from a federal, state or private source. The grant is a commitment from the source to provide funds for specified purposes.

For Federal grants and any State grants requiring claims: 1. Application and award: a. The District grant coordinator completes the application form (“Plan”) in the format prescribed by the SDE, providing narrative and budget data for the programs/activities planned to utilize the funding i. The District school principal provides narrative and budget data for the programs/activities planned for the funding allocation intended for the respective locations. ii. The District grant coordinator reviews the narrative/budget from the school to ensure compliance with the objectives of the funding sources and the mission/goals/objectives/requirements of the District. iii. The District grant coordinator provides narrative and budget data for the programs/activities planned for the funding, ensuring compliance with the objectives of the funding source and the missions, goals, objectives, and requirements of the District. b. The District grant coordinator obtains required Superintendent and CFO/Director of Finance signatures and submits application to SDE. c. The District grant coordinator answers any inquiries and resolves any issues from the SDE to enable plan approval. d. The SDE will issue a Grant Award Notification (“GAN”) containing i. Federal Award Identification Number (FAIN) ii. Total amount of the federal award (SDE’s total award) iii. The amount of the District’s allocation iv. The District’s Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number v. Period of Performance vi. Terms, Conditions, and Assurances (may be a separate document) vii. Signature of State Superintendent of Education e. The District grant coordinator will ensure the District Superintendent receives the issued GAN

i. GAN requires Superintendent’s signature ii. Terms, Conditions, and Assurances, requires Superintendent and CFO or Director of Finance signature. f. District Superintendent’s signature on GAN indicates District acceptance of award. i. Signed GAN must be returned to SDE ii. Copy of signed GAN must be provided to Director of Finance for grant file

2. Grant Budget a. The District grant coordinator will provide a complete copy of the grant plan document to Finance. b. The Director of Finance and grant personnel will ensure the grant budget is entered into a spreadsheet in the appropriate function and object categories, based upon the program/activity expenditures in the grant plan document.

c. The District grant coordinator will review the spreadsheet and Infinite Visions general ledger to monitor budget and actual expenditures with the assistance of the Finance office as appropriate. i. The District grant coordinator will monitor and identify any needed budget amendments or any necessary journal entries for correction of expenditure coding.

3. Grant Expenditures a. Prior to approval for payment, the District grant coordinator will review all grant purchases (including personnel) to ensure i. Allowability of costs for the fund being utilized (as described in the grant plan document, SDE’s Assurances, Terms, and Conditions document, and in the SDE yearly Funding Manual). ii. Reasonableness of purchase and receipt of goods and/or services for achieving program objectives as outlined in the grant plan document. iii. Availability of funds as planned in the grant budget. b. Once approved and submitted for payment by the District Grant Coordinator, i. Accounts Payable/Finance will review the expenditure package (to include, at a minimum, an invoice/travel document and purchase order/check request form) to verify that proper documentation is included for the type of expenditure ii. Payroll will review timesheets and/or additional wage forms for use of correct pay related object codes.

4. SDE requires use of Grants Accounting Processing System (GAPS) for all federal awards a. GAPS Budget i. The SDE will enter the total District award allocation amount in GAPS. ii. The District grant coordinator will enter the allocated grant budget in GAPS, in the appropriate function and object categories, based upon the program/activity expenditures in the grant plan document. iii. Once the District grant coordinator “submits” the allocated budget in GAPS, the District grant coordinator will notify the Director of Finance of the submission. iv. Once notified of the completion of the budget allocation by the District grant coordinator, the Director of Finance will review for function/object appropriateness and “Approve” or “Return” the budget in GAPS. 1. If “Returned” by the Director of Finance, the Director of Finance will notify the District Grant Coordinator, who must change/correct the issues identified and resubmit. 2. Once “Approved” by the Director of Finance, the SDE must “Approve” or “Return” the allocated budget in GAPS. a. If “Returned” by the SDE, the District grant coordinator, must change/correct the issues identified and resubmit (steps iii and iv are repeated). b. GAPS Expenditure Reimbursement Claims i. Once the allocated budget has been approved by the SDE, the Director of Finance/Grant Coordinator can enter District expenditures, by quarter, in the GAPS system and “Submit.” 1. The Director of Finance ensures that the GAPS and approved budgets are in agreement by Function and Object Codes.

2. The Director of Finance notifies the District grant coordinator of any identified issues with actual expenditures versus budget. The District grant coordinator will correct identified issues in a timely manner to ensure the District’s maximum reimbursement of expenditures. ii. Once the Director of Finance submits the expenditure claim for the quarter, the

District Financial Coordinator reviews and will either “Approve” or “Return” the expenditure claim in GAPS. 1. If “Returned” by the Financial Coordinator, the Financial Coordinator will notify the grant coordinator or the Director of Finance, who must change/correct the issue identified and resubmit. 2. Once “Approved” by the Financial Coordinator, the SDE processes the expenditure claim for payment to the District. 3. The grant coordinator and Director of Finance work together to ensure that claims match receipts/deposits to complete the grant spending cycle.

5. Maintenance of Effort and/or Excess Costs documentation: the Director of Finance is responsible for calculating and maintaining MOE and Excess Costs information. For IDEA, the Office of Special

Education Services MOE Calculator will be utilized to record MOE for IDEA grants. For Title I, the

Director of Federal Programs and Director of Finance will work collaboratively to ensure calculations are prepared and documented in SDE prescribed format and are retained for future reference.

6. Time and Effort Certification: Salaries and wages paid for employees who work on a single federal cost objective must be supported by periodic certifications that the employees worked solely on that activity for the period covered by certification. These certifications must be prepared semi-annually (every six months) and be signed by the employee and supervisory official who has firsthand knowledge of the employee’s work. The certification form must include the single federal cost objective and the dates of the period being certified. It will be the responsibility of the Director of

Federal Programs to identify employees who require a certification, collect the completed certification forms and maintain certification documentation for all grants except for Special Education, Adult

Education, CATE, and McKinney Vento. The Director of Special Education, Director of Adult

Education, and Technology Center Director will be responsible for identifying employees, collecting the certification forms, signing the certifications, and maintaining the certification documentation for their designated grants. The Finance Office will be responsible for identifying employees, collecting the completed certifications and maintaining the certification documentation for the McKinney Vento and JROTC grants.

A blanket semi-annual certification form may be used for certain employees working on the same single federal cost objective. The blanket form should include the name of each employee, site information, period of service and the signature of the supervisory official having first-hand knowledge of the employee’s work and the date of his/her signature.

For the first semester of the fiscal year, semi-annual and blanket semi-annual certification forms will be collected by January 31 for the prior calendar year period beginning July 1st through December 31st .