2010 New York State Charter Schools Stimulus Fund Application Guidelines
Application 
(208 KB)
Proposal Evaluation Rubric (89 KB)
Program Purpose/Goals
The State Education Department (SED) has received New York State charter schools stimulus funds for grants for the development, implementation and operation of charter schools. Funds may be used for start-up costs and costs associated with the acquisition, renovation or construction of charter school facilities.
Project Period and Due Date
January 1, 2010 through June 30, 2010. Applications must be postmarked by October 23, 2009. Submit one (1) original and three (3) copies of the completed application to:
New York State Education Department
Grants Management Processing Unit
Room 674 EBA
Albany, NY 12234
Project Funding
Grant funds totaling $640,431 are available for this program. Awards of up to $100,000 will be made for costs associated with the acquisition, renovation or construction of charter school facilities. Awards of up to $50,000 will be made for start-up costs. (See Allowable Activities/Costs)
Applications may be submitted for up to $100,000 for costs associated with the acquisition, renovation or construction of charter school facilities or up to $50,000 for start-up costs, but not for both.
Eligible Applicants
Charter schools authorized by the Board of Regents are eligible to apply to the State Education Department for this funding. An applicant must have received its provisional charter at the time of the application due date. Charter schools previously receiving a State Stimulus Fund Grant may reapply. However, priority is given to charter schools that have not previously received State Stimulus Funds.
Charter schools authorized by the Trustees of the State University of New York (SUNY), Buffalo Board of Education, or the Chancellor of the New York City Public Schools (Chancellor) must contact SUNY Charter School Institute (CSI) to apply for this funding. Information about the SUNY CSI grant application is at: http://www.newyorkcharters.org/ 
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Due Date for Questions
All questions must be emailed to emsccsp@mail.nysed.gov no later than close of business September 23, 2009. A Questions and Answers summary is now posted.
Allowable Activities/Costs
Funds can be used for the development, implementation and operation of charter schools. If used for facilities costs, schools can include, but are not limited to, salaries, employee benefits, purchased services, and materials and supplies associated with the acquisition, renovation, or construction of school facilities. Examples include:
- A down payment for the purchase of an existing facility.
- Renovation of an existing facility to meet local building codes and/or the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
- Costs associated with the charter school’s maintenance (e.g., electrical wiring, painting, paving) and operations (e.g., payroll or accounting systems).
- Installation of a security system.
- Retro-fitting classrooms with technology.
- Accommodation for school growth (e.g., the enhancement of heating system to new classrooms).
- Expansion of telephone system including the actual telephones.
- Furnishing classrooms and gymnasiums.
- Administrative needs (e.g., fiscal management, payroll processing, MIS Management, and general clerical support).
Funds may be used for start-up costs associated with initial implementation needs that cannot be funded or funded fully by other grant sources, or through school district payments to the charter school. Examples of start-up costs include:
- Consultant fees to assist in the development of the proposed charter school’s discipline policy, general curriculum, or budget;
- Attorney fees for assistance in developing board by-laws, developing and reviewing proposed contracts, or negotiating a management agreement with an educational management organization; and
- Community outreach.
Non-Allowable Activities/Costs
Funds awarded under this project may complement or supplement other funds, but shall not supplant the use of other funds. Indirect costs or rent for an existing facility are not allowable expenditures. Start-up costs associated with the initial application for a charter are not allowable expenditures.
Application Submission
The Application Cover Page must be typed and signed in blue ink by the Chief Administrative Officer. For all charter schools partnered with an educational management company, the only acceptable signatory is the president of the charter school’s board of trustees. Applications signed by any other persons will be automatically disqualified. Signatures from management company representatives are not allowed. The Proposal Narrative and the Budget Category and Narrative forms must be typed and double-spaced. The Proposal Narrative must not exceed ten pages.
The application must be assembled and submitted in the following order:
- Application Checklist
- Application Cover Page (signed in blue ink)
- NYS Assurances and Certifications (Appendix A and Appendix A-1 G)
- Proposal Narrative
- Budget Category and Narrative Forms
- FS-20 Budget Summary Form (Please keep as a separate document and sign in blue ink.)
Budget Submission
The Budget Category and Narrative forms must describe all intended expenditures. The category totals must be entered on the FS-20 Budget Summary Form. The FS-20 form and related forms and guidelines are available at: http://www.oms.nysed.gov/cafe
The proposed budget will be reviewed for the appropriateness of the expenditures. Any items deemed to be non-allowable or inappropriate will be eliminated. Awardees will be required to submit a revised FS-20 to reflect changes made by SED, if any.
Review and Ranking of Applications
The applications will be reviewed and rated by two reviewers. A third review will be performed if there is a difference of at least 20 points between the two scores. The applications will be rated according to the points in the Proposal Narrative and Budget Category and Narrative forms using the Proposal Evaluation Rubric. Scores of all the reviewers will be averaged to obtain the final average score of each application.
Awards, after any adjustments for non-allowable or inappropriate expenditures, will be made in order of score first to applicants that have not previously received State Stimulus Funds and have received a final average score of 75 or higher, until funds are insufficient to fund the next ranking applicant in full. The next ranked applicant will be given the opportunity to operate a smaller project using the remaining funds.
If funds remain after all new applicants with a final average score of 75 or higher have been funded, awards will next be made in order of final average score to applicants that have been previously funded and received a final average score of 75 or higher.
Appeals Process
At the conclusion of the rating and ranking process, and the notification to all applicants as to the status of their application, an applicant who has not been awarded funds may ask for a debriefing by emailing the request to emsccsp@mail.nysed.gov. SED staff will summarize the scores identified by the raters and the comments made. This will be emailed to the applicant.
Award Recipient’s Fiscal Responsibilities
Grant 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 grant 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 local agency's record keeping 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 for grant contracts must be kept on file 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
Recipients of stimulus grants must submit a final project report within 30 days of the end date of the project describing the progress made during the project period in meeting the goals and objectives of the grant. 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 the funds are used in compliance with the appropriate program laws, regulations and grant agreements. Monitoring can include document reviews, onsite visits, training, telephone calls and other activities. Award recipients are required to provide State Education Department staff and State auditors access to records and financial statements as necessary to perform their monitoring responsibilities.
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. School districts, Charter Schools, BOCES, public colleges and universities, public libraries, and the Research Foundation for SUNY and CUNY are some of the exempt entities. For a complete list, see: http://www.osc.state.ny.us/vendrep/documents/vrdocrules.pdf .
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/wps/portal .
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.