Grants and Other Financial Assistance Programs

Grants for Schools: Getting Them and Using Them, A Procedural Manual

II. How to Complete the Grant Application

Requests for Proposals contain all the materials and instructions needed to complete applications for Department of Elementary and Secondary Education program grants. The instructions should be used in preparing applications for submission. Additional guidelines follow for completing Part I, Standard Contract Form and Application for Program Grants and Part II, Project Expenditures - Detail Information.

1. GUIDELINES FOR THE GENERAL APPLICANT SECTION

   PART I - Standard Contract Form and Application for Program Grants

   • Part I - A   The applicant name and address should be the official name and address of the entity that will be receiving the funds. The applicant should be a legal grant recipient with a vendor code. Names of individuals and particular schools or ad hoc organizations within towns should not appear in this section.

   • Part I - B   When an RFP is distributed, the application contained in the package will have the fund code(s), program name(s), and project duration dates included. Applicants need to indicate the amount requested for each grant in the AMOUNT REQUESTED column.

   • Part I - C   The superintendent, assistant superintendent, director, executive director, or other administrator authorized to sign the Statement of Assurances to the Department and receive grants must sign. Ordinarily, teachers, specialists, or principals do not have such authorization. State finance regulations require that a grant with an original signature be submitted.

2. GUIDELINES FOR THE BUDGETARY INFORMATION SECTION

   PART II - Project Expenditures - Detail Information

   Due to federal regulations (34CFR, s.80.20) regarding procedures and standards for financial management of grants, detailed project expenditure pages are required for each proposal submitted.

   • Part II - Section A Fund Code  -  Indicate grant program fund code.

   • Part II - Section B Applicant Agency  -  Provide all requested information.

   • Part II - Section C Schedule A  -  This box should be checked only if the grant proposal will be using funds assigned by more than one agency.

   • Part II - Line 1 Administrators  - T hose listed here should have supervisory responsibilities. The number of staff and FTE columns should be completed. Note that number of staff can only be expressed in whole numbers while FTEs (full time equivalents) can be decimals or fractions. The figure used for the FTE should represent the percentage of the salary (or salaries) the grant is supporting. For federally funded grants only: if the administrator(s) paid with grant funds is a member of MTRS, the MTRS box must be checked. Stipends paid to regular salaried supervisory staff for activities outside their contracted working hours should also be listed here (unless the recipient agency has a policy of paying overtime for such activities).

   • Part II - Line 2 Instructional/Professional Staff  -  Those listed on this line should be professional staff who are certified or licensed to provide either instructional or direct services to students. Examples of titles appropriate for this line are teachers, specialists, counselors, social workers, therapists, psychologists, and nurses. One sub-line should be used for each title. For example, if 4 teachers are being hired under the grant, the title teacher should appear on one sub-line only with the column to the right registering the number of teachers as 4 and the FTE column reflecting the cumulative FTEs of those 4 teachers. The same instructions regarding number of staff, FTE, and MTRS as were outlined for Line 1 above apply to this line. Stipends paid to regular salaried instructional staff for activities outside their contracted working hours would also be listed here (unless the recipient agency has a policy of paying overtime for such activities).

   • Part II - Line 3 Support Staff  -  Those listed on this line are generally paraprofessional, clerical, or non-professional staff who provide either non-instructional services or support services. Examples of titles appropriate for this line are aide, tutor, administrative assistant, bookkeeper, secretary, bus driver, bus monitor, and custodian. Note that while aides and tutors may provide instructional services, they may do so only when they are supporting the work of a teacher and are under the direct supervision of that individual in the classroom. The same instructions regarding number of staff, FTE, and MTRS as were outlined for Line 1 above apply to this budget line as well.

   • Part II - Line 4 Fringe Benefits  -  Fringe benefits should be listed in this section. Such items as health insurance, life insurance, county retirement program, and unemployment insurance, etc., are appropriate. Note that overtime and longevity pay are not fringe benefits; they belong with the related salary item. For federal grants only, on the MTRS sub-line a budgeted amount equal to 9% of the salaries of those checked on lines 1, 2, or 3 as members of MTRS must be listed.  (See Appendix J.)

   • Part II - Line 5 Contracted Services  -  Rates per hour or day should be listed next to the services indicated. Note that staff hired on an hourly basis without benefits would normally appear on this line along with training consultants, evaluation consultants, auditors, and substitutes. Stipends paid to regular salaried supervisory and instructional staff for activities outside their contracted working hours may also be listed here under OTHER (unless the recipient agency has a policy of paying overtime for such activities).

   • Part II - Line 6 Supplies and Materials  -  Items costing less than $5,000 per unit or having a useful life of less than a year should be listed here. Subject to limitations outlined in RFPs, supplies can include books, paper, art supplies, computer hardware, and software.

   • Part II - Line 7 Travel  -  Reimbursable travel related to the purposes of the grant such as mileage, airfare, lodging, meals, and conference registration fees should be included here. By signing a grant that has described and budgeted funds for out-of-state travel, the approving authority is giving prior authorization for that specified expenditure. No further authorization from the Department is required.

   • Part II - Line 8 Other Costs  -  This sub-line is used to indicate costs associated with a variety of activities outlined in the application instructions. Note that photocopying costs (e.g., $.05 per copy) belong under printing and reproduction in this line, while amounts budgeted to purchase paper for the photocopier would be listed under Line 6 (Supplies). The lease of a photocopying machine would be listed under rental of space/equipment in this line, while the purchase of such a machine would be listed under Line 6 or 10, depending on the cost. Any listing of expenses under "non-classified" will likely prompt questions since almost all allowable costs can be reflected in one of the specific lines or sub-lines of the budget.

   • Part II - Line 9 Indirect Costs  -  The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education determines an indirect cost rate for each city, town, or regional school district for application to state and federal grants and contracts, unless prohibited by federal regulations. If used, the indirect cost figure must be equal to or less than the approved restricted rate. The decision to recover indirect costs using these established rates is a local option. The rates are developed for school districts as the maximum allowable rate for a given fiscal year.

     In calculating the indirect cost allowable for a particular grant, note that indirect costs cannot be charged on either capital expenditures or on indirect costs themselves. To arrive at the allowable amount one cannot simply multiply a total entitlement by the indirect rate. Instead, it is recommended that the following formula be used:

     1. total entitlement

     2. minus capital expenditures (Line 10)

     3. divided by one plus the restricted rate

     The resulting amount is the amount that can be used for grant activities. When this amount is subtracted from the total entitlement, the result equals the amount allowed for indirect cost.

     Example: School system A has a restricted rate of .045 and an entitlement of $98,000. There are no capital expenditures. The calculation is:

     

     Note: If indirect costs are recovered, they shall be returned to the general fund of the city or town in accordance with G.L. Chapter 44, Section 53. In the case of regional schools, indirect costs shall be returned to the regional school general fund.

   • Part II - Line 10 Equipment  -  Items costing more that $5,000 per unit and having a useful life of more than a year should be listed here. Equipment must be itemized with a brief statement of the need for the item. Grant recipients are reminded of their obligation to follow and document open and competitive procurement procedures when purchasing equipment and of their record-keeping responsibilities.  (Appendix M.)

   • GENERAL GUIDELINES

     After completing each grant proposal, the applicant should consider the following general questions.

     • Does the application meet the objectives established through the RFP process and related laws, regulations, policies and program guidelines?

     • Does the budget balance?

     • Does the budget contain whole dollar amounts only? (No cents)

     • Does the application exceed the entitlement amount or the stated maximum for competitive programs?

     • Are the costs reasonable for the program and comparable to costs in similar programs?

     • Are the costs allowable under the terms of the RFP or under the laws, regulations, or policies that govern that particular program?

As a final resource for this section, the Review Checklist, that is used by program staff to perform a technical review of all grants, is provided in Appendix K and may be used as an aid in reviewing grants before submitting them to the Department.