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The State Education Department does not discriminate on the basis of age, color, religion, creed, disability, martial status, veteran status, national origin, race, gender, genetic predisposition or carrier status, or sexual orientation in its educational programs, services and activities. Portion of any publication designed for distribution can be made available in a variety of formats, including Braille, large print or audiotape, upon request. Inquiries regarding this policy of nondiscrimination should be directed to the Department’s Office for Diversity, Ethics, and Access, Room 530, Education Building, Albany, NY 12234.

Program Purpose/Goals

The State Education Department (SED) has received a New York State charter schools stimulus fund allocation for the development, implementation and operation of charter schools.

Program Priorities

SED is authorized to award discretionary grant contracts for financial support to charter school applicants and charter schools for start-up costs and costs associated with the acquisition, renovation or construction of charter school facilities (NY Education Law §2850).

Project Period

The project year for all awards under this program will operate from January 1, 2007 through December 31, 2007. Applications must be received by January 5, 2007.

Project Funding

Awards of up to $200,000 will be made for facilities costs. Awards of up to $5,000 will be made for start-up costs. (See Allowable Activities/Costs below.)

Eligible Applicants

Charter schools authorized by the Board of Regents are eligible to apply. Applicants must either hold a charter or have had a charter application approved by the Board of Regents by the final date for this application submission. In the event that a Charter School Stimulus Fund award is made but a charter does not follow within 90 days from the final date for this submission, the award will be rescinded and offered to the proposal with the next highest score.

If your charter school was chartered by the State University of New York Charter School Institute (SUNY CSI) you should contact them for this funding. The NYS Charter School Stimulus funds are allocated to both SED and SUNY CSI. The allocation to SED is based on the number of new schools for which it is the charter entity. Therefore, SED's request for applications is intended for charter schools for which SED is the charter entity.  Information about the SUNY CSI grant application is available at http://www.newyorkcharters.org/. 
 

Allowable Activities/Costs

Facilities costs 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; and

• Costs associated with the charter school’s maintenance (e.g., electrical wiring, painting, paving) and operations (e.g., payroll or accounting systems).

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 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. Also:

• Indirect costs are not allowable expenditures.

• Salaries and employee benefits are not allowable expenditures for start-up grants.

• Start-up costs associated with the initial application for charter are not allowable expenditures.

• Rent for an existing facility.

Application Submission

All applicants must address each of the items required by the Proposal Narrative and the Budget Category and Narrative forms.

The Application Cover Page must be typed and signed in blue ink by the Chief Operating Officer/Chief Administrative Officer. The Proposal Narrative and the Budget Category and Narrative forms must be typed and double-spaced. The Part One - Proposal Narrative should contain no more than ten pages. The application must be assembled and submitted in the following order:

• Application Cover Page

• Completed Grant Application Checklist

• NYS Assurances and Certifications (Appendix A and Appendix A-1 G)

• Part One - Proposal Narrative

• Part Two - Budget Category and Narrative Forms

• Budget Summary Form (FS-20)

• Payee Information Form (for entities that have not previously received funding from the State Education Department)

Budget Submission

The FS-20 Budget Summary form and the appropriate Budget Category and Narrative forms must be attached for the funds requested under this program. The Budget Category and Narrative forms must describe all intended expenditures, by budget category. The amounts entered on the Budget Summary form (FS-20) must reflect the category totals on the Budget Category and Narrative forms.

The proposed budget will be reviewed for the appropriateness of the expenditures. The budget will be adjusted for any items deemed to be non-allowable or inappropriate. SED staff will inform the applicants of any adjustments.

The Budget Summary form (FS-20) will become part of the grant contract. Therefore, revised Budget Summary forms (FS-20) must be submitted by the applicants to reflect any changes in the Budget Category and Narrative forms that affect the budget category totals.

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 by the criteria described in the attached Part One - Proposal Narrative and Part Two - Budget Category and Narrative forms. Final scores of the reviewers will be added and averaged.

Awards, after any adjustments for non-allowable or inappropriate expenditures, will be made to all applicants receiving an average score of 75 or higher, as long as there are sufficient funds.

In the event that funds are not sufficient to fund all applicants with an average score of 75 or higher, preference will be given to applicants that have not previously received State Stimulus Funds. All applications receiving an average score of 75 points will be separated into two categories, new applicants and those previously funded.  All new applications with a score of 75 points or higher will be awarded funds first, if sufficient funds are available.  If there are funds remaining that will not fully support the next highest ranking application that received 75 or more points, a partial award will be made.

Payee Information Form

A Payee Information form is required from any applicant that has not previously received grant funding from SED. The form must be completed and submitted with this application. The Payee Information form and instructions are available in Word at http://www.oms.nysed.gov/cafe/PIform.doc.

State Contracts for State Stimulus Fund Program Awards

Awards to approved charter schools will be made through a state grant-contract process.

State law requires that the award of state contracts be made to responsible vendors. SED must make an affirmative responsibility determination before an award is made. The factors to be considered include: legal authority to do business in New York State; integrity; capacity - both organizational and financial; and previous performance.

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 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 SED officials or its representatives.

Required Reports

Recipients of stimulus grants must submit a project report describing the activities carried out to achieve the project goals. Project reports should be submitted within 30 days of the end date of the project. A project report form is part of the application materials.

Project Monitoring

The State Education Department is responsible for monitoring the activities of the award recipients to ensure that the funds are used for authorized purposes in compliance with the appropriate 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 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.

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 that has not been awarded funds may ask for a debriefing by e-mailing the request to emsccsp@mail.nysed.gov.  SED staff will summarize the scores identified by the raters and the comments made.  This will be e-mailed to the applicant.

Application Forms (Separate Word Document)

02/02/2007