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Charter School Program Planning and Implementation Grants

Program Purpose

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) has received a Charter School Program grant from the United States Department of Education under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (Title V, Part B) as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. The primary purpose of the Charter School Program (CSP) funds is to expand the number of high-quality charter schools available to students.
CSP grant funds may be used for:

• Planning and program design of the charter school educational program, which may include:
• Refinement of the desired educational results and of the methods for measuring progress toward achieving those results, and
• Professional development of teachers and other staff who will work in the charter school; and
• Initial implementation of the charter school which may include:
• Informing the community about the school,
• Acquiring necessary equipment and educational materials and supplies,
• Acquiring or developing curriculum materials, and
• Other initial operating costs that cannot be met from State or local sources.

Federal Charter School Program guidelines may be found at http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/cspguidance03.doc

Program Period

The length of the grant is dependent on the type of grant applied for as follows: 

• Planning and program design grant only -- up to18 months.
• Implementation grant only -- up to 24 months.
• Planning and implementation grant -- up to 36 months.

Applicants are eligible for only one grant. Therefore, applicants seeking funding for both planning and implementation activities are advised to submit a single application for a grant for up to 36-months for both activities. 
Applicants must clearly indicate on the Application Cover Page the type and duration of the grant being applied for.  If the applicant fails to specify the type and duration of the project, a twelve-month duration will be assumed.  No further award will be possible at the end of that twelve-month grant period. 

A FS-20 budget must be submitted annually for a multi-year grant.  Go to http://www.oms.nysed.gov/cafe/ for the FS-20 form.  The end date of each FS-20 budget cannot extend beyond June 30 of each year.  For this application, a planning and implementation grant for a charter school that will open September 2008 can be for up to 27 months as follows:

• June 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009
• July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010
• July 1, 2010 through August 31, 2010

For schools opening in September 2009, the planning and implementation period can be for up to 36 months as follows:

• June 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009
• July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010
• July 1, 2010 through May 31, 2011

Submit Budget Category and Narrative Forms and a FS-20 for the first period only (June 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009) with this application. 

Application Due Date

Submit 1 original and 3 copies postmarked by March 31, 2008.

Questions and Answers

All questions must be emailed to emsccsp@mail.nysed.gov no later than close of business February 29, 2008.  A Questions and Answers summary will be posted at:  http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/funding/currentapps.htm  no later than March 10, 2008.

No questions will be answered by telephone.

Eligible Applicants

Approved charter schools are eligible to apply for a grant.  For-profit entities and not-for-profit agencies or their employees are not eligible to apply for this grant.  

Note:  Charter schools authorized by The State University of New York Charter School Institute (SUNY CSI) must contact them for grant funding at http://www.newyorkcharters.org.  

Allowable Expenditures

Expenditures must be for the costs of planning and designing, and initially implementing the school’s program.  Funds can not be used for ongoing costs (i.e.: costs associated with a charter school’s operational budget).   The start-up phase ends June 30 of the year in which the school opens for instruction.
Allowable expenditures include:

• Supplies, materials, furniture, computers and other equipment. Grant funds can not be used to purchase more than 40% of the total expenditures for furniture, equipment, supplies, and/or materials.
• Copying, printing, mailing, travel and legal costs associated with the planning and initial implementation of the school.
• Staff and student recruitment materials and activities.
• Initial staff training.
• Consultant services to help develop curriculum, assist in developing the school's health program, assessments, policies, etc.
• Equipment rental prior to the school's opening.
• Installation of purchased equipment.
• Website development.
• Start-up utility costs (heat, light, telephone, etc…) during the start-up phase of the first year only.
• Conference attendance.
• Supplemental student transportation
• Minor remodeling such as installing ramps to bring the building into compliance with the      requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Non-Allowable Activities and Costs:

Funds may not be used for operational costs, capital expenses, salaries, benefits, utilities, or other costs that should be borne by the school’s operational budget.  The operational budget begins July 1 of the school’s first year of instruction.  
Examples of non-allowable expenses include:

• Salaries and fringe benefits for individuals involved in the school's ongoing operational program.
• Salaries, fringe benefits, or other costs of any employee of an educational management organization or any institutional partner of the school.
• Any rentals or leases.
• Indirect costs.
• Fees for an external payroll agency.
• Liability insurance premiums.
• Ongoing nursing services.
• Student textbooks.
• Uniforms for students.
• Large equipment purchases such as furnaces, computers and or furniture for the entire school, playgrounds, etc.
• Ongoing equipment maintenance contracts.
• Capital expenditures including the construction of new facilities, purchase of land or buildings, installation of elevators, etc.
• Purchase or lease of motor vehicles.
• Routine student transportation.
• Ongoing staff development and/or other training that is required by a charter school's management company.
• Fundraising including financial campaigns, solicitation of gifts and bequests, etc.
• Leadership and/or supervision certification programs for the executive director.
• College tuition for staff and students.

Vendor Responsibility

State law requires that the award of state contracts be made to responsible vendors. Before an award is made to a not-for-profit entity, a for-profit entity, a private college or university or a public entity not exempted by the Office of the State Comptroller, the Department must make an affirmative responsibility determination. The factors to be considered include: legal authority to do business in New York State; integrity; capacity- both organizational and financial; and previous performance. Before an award of $100,000 or greater can be made to a covered entity, the entity will be required to complete and submit a Vendor Responsibility Questionnaire.

Vendors are invited to file the required Vendor Responsibility Questionnaire online via the New York State VendRep System. To enroll in and use the New York State VendRep System, see the VendRep System instructions at: http:\\www.osc.state.ny.us/vendrep/systeminit.htm or go directly to the VendRep System online at https://portal.osc.state.ny.us.

For direct VendRep System user assistance, the OSC Help Desk may be reached at 866-370-4672 or 518-408-4672 or by email at helpdesk@osc.state.ny.us. 

Vendors opting to file a paper questionnaire can obtain the appropriate questionnaire from the VendRep website: http://www.osc.state.ny.us/vendrep/templates.htm or will receive it with the award letter.

Review and Rating of Applications

Each application will be reviewed and the Project Narrative will be scored according to the points indicated by two reviewers. Scores of the two reviewers will be added and averaged. A third review will be performed if there is a difference of at least twenty points between the two scores. In cases where a third review is necessary, the three scores will be averaged to obtain the final average score.  Applicants must receive a final average score of 75 or higher to be eligible to receive an award.

FS-20 budgets must contain only allowable and appropriate proposed expenditures.  SED will eliminate any non-allowable or inappropriate items from the budget. Awards will be made in the amount of the adjusted budget to all applicants receiving an average score of 75 or higher.

Award Recipient’s Fiscal Responsibilities

Projects must operate under the jurisdiction of the school’s charter and the board of trustees, and are subject to at least the same degree of accountability as all other expenditures of the charter school. The board of trustees is responsible for the proper disbursement of and accounting for project funds. Written agency policy concerning wages, mileage and travel allowances, overtime compensation, or fringe benefits, as well as State rules pertaining to competitive bidding, safety regulations, and inventory control must be followed. Supporting or source documents must be on file for all project related transactions entered into the charter school’s recordkeeping system. Source documents that authorize the disbursement of grant funds consist of purchase orders, contracts, time & effort records, delivery receipts, vendor invoices, travel documentation and payment documents, including check stubs.
Supporting documentation must be kept on file by the charter school for at least six years after the last payment was made unless otherwise specified by program requirements. Additionally, audit or litigation will "freeze the clock" for records retention purposes until the issue is resolved. All records and documentation must be available for inspection by State Education Department officials or its representatives.

Required Reports

CSP award recipients must submit an annual performance report describing the progress that has been made toward meeting the project goals. CSP award recipients will be provided with copies of the report format and the submission information.

Project Monitoring

The State Education Department is responsible for monitoring the activities of the award recipients to ensure that federal funds are used for authorized purposes in compliance with the federal program laws, regulations and grant agreements and that performance goals are achieved. Monitoring can include document reviews, onsite visits, training, telephone calls and other activities. Award recipients receiving and expending $500,000 or more in federal funds during their fiscal year must have an audit performed in accordance with the U.S. Office of Management and Budget Circular A-133, Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations. All award recipients are required to provide State Education Department staff and state auditors with access to records and financial statements as necessary to perform their monitoring responsibilities.

Application Submission Instructions

One original and three copies of the application package must be postmarked by March 31, 2008 and submitted to the following address. No faxes will be accepted.

New York State Education Department Grants Management
Room 674 EBA
Albany, NY  12234

The Project Narrative must be no longer than 10 single-spaced pages with no smaller than 12pt font. The application must include the Application Checklist and all of the items listed on the checklist in the order listed. 

A Payee Information Form is required only from an applicant that has not previously received grant funding from the State Education Department. The form must be completed and submitted with the CSP application. The Payee Information Form and instructions are available at http://www.oms.nysed.gov/cafe/forms.html.

APPLICATION (In Word)

SCORING RUBRIC (In Word)