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Supplemental ESF Application and Changes in ARRA Reporting

Office of Educational Management ServicesNew York State Education Department

March 10, 2010 2:00-3:30 p.m.

Website: http://usny.nysed.gov/arra/

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ARRA - ESF Supplemental Application

Claiming Funds and Payment Process

Revised Quarterly Reporting

What Will Be Covered Today?

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Today’s Training Provided By:

• Deborah Cunningham, Coordinator, NYSED Educational

Management Services

• Stephen McNally, Educational Management Services

• Maureen LaVare, NYSED Office of Grants Management

• Matt Reilly, Educational Management Services

• Ruth Singer, Educational Management Services

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Application Process for Supplemental ARRA Education

Stabilization Fund

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What is the Supplemental ESF Application?

• The supplemental ESF amount was appropriated from the total two-year ARRA State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF) to restore state aid cuts for 2009-10 enacted in December 2009

• Supplemental funds replace existing 2009-10 state aid. They are not “new” funds

• The same purposes and requirements as the original ESF allocation, as reported upon for the previous two quarters

• Supplemental application reviewed on its own merits, but will be combined with original allocation for reporting

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Recommended uses of ARRA - ESF• Retaining existing teachers, administrators and

support staff

• Improving teacher effectiveness and the equitable distribution of highly qualified teachers

• Establishing data systems and using data for improvement

• Turning around the lowest-performing schools

• Improving results for all students

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Other Uses of the Supplemental ESF Application

• Also designed to bring the existing ESF program into conformance with revised federal guidance on reporting jobs

• Recipients only need to count jobs created or retained directly with ARRA funds

• The job estimates included in the original ESF allocation, as reported upon for the previous two quarters, need to be revised

• The job estimates for the original and supplemental allocations must be on an annualized FTE basis for the Budget Summary

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Budget Summary

Revised Federal Job Calculation Methodology• STEP 1: Calculate Hours in a Full-Time Schedule

* Generally, the full school year, but can include summer school

• STEP 2: Calculate the Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Funded Directly by ARRA – ESF

* Dividing total hours worked and funded by amount in STEP 1

• STEP 3: Calculate Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) for Less (or More)Than Full-Time or Full-Year Jobs

Specific directions on the ARRA ESF site under “Guidance for Completing the Supplemental Application” (Attachments 2 and 3)

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Important Details• The Department has included the on-line supplemental application in the

existing ARRA Reporting System on the SED Business Portal

• Districts should first confirm that they have a current, valid CCR

• Supplemental and original amounts must be obligated by June 30, 2010

• Applications are due from school districts by March 15, 2010

• Districts that have not submitted an application will not be able to request payment for the supplemental allocation

• Districts will be able to file all Quarterly Reports for March 31, 2010 with SED; however, if the ESF Supplemental Application has not been submitted, the ESF Quarterly Report sent to federalreporting.gov for posting on the ARRA website will not include the supplement amount. (revised material)

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Time Line

• March 3, 2010 System open for school district data entry

• March 10, 2010 On-line Training Session (2 – 3:30 pm)

• March 15, 2010 Applications are due from school districts

• March 3, 2010 -- SED Office of Grants Management staff review and approve

applications

• June 30, 2010 All ESF funds, including original and supplemental, must be obligated

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Before you get started…• ONLY the Superintendent, using their user identification and password, can

certify and submit the application via the SED portal 

• In order for other district employees to prepare the Supplemental Application via the portal, the superintendent must delegate access to the ARRA system through SEDDAS

• If you are having trouble with the SEDDAS system or are not sure how to delegate access to other administrators to the ARRA Reporting System, see:

– SEDDAS home page: http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/seddas/seddashome.html

– SEDDAS Help Line is: 518-473-8832

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Log on to NYSED Application Business Portal: http://portal.nysed.gov

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Beginning to Use the On-Line System

• Once you have logged on to the ARRA Reporting System, you can review the original 2009-10 ESF Application or previous Quarterly Reports by changing to the applicable Period Ending Date

• After changing back to the “Period Ending March 31, 2010,” select “Educational Stabilization Fund – Supplemental Application”

• Access to the original ESF narrative will also be available within the Supplemental Application

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Entering the Supplemental ESF Application

ARRA Supplemental Education Stabilization Fund (ESF) Application is Now OpenSchool districts originally applied for the 2009-10 ARRA Education Stabilization Fund (ESF) in late summer 2009. Legislation enacted in December 2009 included a Supplemental Deficit Reduction Assessment (SDRA) which was fully offset with federal ARRA funds known as the Supplemental Deficit Reduction Assessment Restoration (SDRAR). This Supplemental Application is only for the SDRAR funds and is to be obligated with the original ESF amount by June 30, 2010. Districts will report on the combined original and supplemental ESF amount in the next quarterly report, due March 31, 2010 and thereafter as the total 2009-10 ARRA ESF amount. The Supplemental Application will: Identify how these resources will be used to avert cuts and retain teachers and programsAmend the original ESF application to reflect changes that have occurred during the year, as reported in the two previous quarterly reporting periodsRevise the estimated jobs created or retained to include only positions supported directly with ARRA funds, pursuant to the revised guidance issued by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget on December 18, 2009Provide a final, combined application that includes all 2009-10 ESF amounts and job estimates for reportingThe data is to be certified and submitted by the Superintendent of Schools to SED through the ARRA Reporting System by March 15, 2010. Please see http://usny.nysed.gov/arra/esf/ for additional guidance.

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Completing the Supplemental Application

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Starting the Supplemental ESF Application

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Reviewing or Amending Original ESF Narrative

Minor change was made in our original allocation. $100 in ARRA funding will be used to help defray the cost of our classroom renovations.

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Reviewing Original ESF Narrative

Our school district has opted to utilize Stabilization funds to retain staffing that would have otherwise been eliminated. These positions include Elementary Teachers, Teacher Assistants and Teacher Aides for the school’s Kindergarten program.

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Entering the Supplemental ESF Narrative

Our school district will use the Supplemental ARRA funding to retain 2 middle school teachers, 5 Administrators and 1.5 support staff in an effort to maintain and provide a high-quality education. Funds will also be used to fund our existing contract with BOCES to provide services to our High School students. The remainder of the funds will be used to cover the expense of renovation costs to convert existing classroom space into computer classrooms including the purchase of new computers. This renovation will improve the learning environment for our students as well as provide the means for raising standards and assessments.

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Completing the Supplemental ESF Budget Summary (1)

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Completing the Supplemental ESF Budget Summary (2)

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Completing the Supplemental ESF Budget Summary (3)

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Completing the Supplemental ESF Budget Summary (4)

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• Review Supplemental and Amended Original Allocation Narratives (if applicable) for reasonableness and conformance to ARRA requirements

• Compare Narratives with Budget Summary

• Confirm Infrastructure Expenditures match approved projects on file with the Department.

• Discuss and resolve issues with districts. Resubmit if necessary

• Approval status will be shown in Reporting System

Review and Approval Process

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Claiming ARRA Funds and the Payment Process

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• Payment process is separate from Quarterly reporting

• Most payments are processed through the Grants Finance office (www.oms.nysed.gov/cafe)

• Grant recipients verify expenditures by using the FS-25 form and receive payment

• Expenditures reported to federalreporting.gov are based on payments made by the Grants Finance Office which are verified against Comptroller records

Payment Process

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• Upon approval of Supplemental Application, total available under ESF-ARRA will be increased to reflect the sum of the funding from the original and supplemental allocations

• Continue to review expenditures on a regular basis

• Payment will not be made for anticipated expenditures

Instructions to Claim Funds

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• Complete and submit Form FS-25, Request to obtain reimbursement for expenditures

• FS-25 form and other information about the grant payment process can be accessed from the Grants Finance web site at http://www.oms.nysed.gov/cafe/

• FS-25 claims may be submitted as frequently as monthly, but monthly claiming is not required

Instructions to Claim Funds

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• Up to 70% of the total available will be payable prior to April 1, 2010

• Up to 90% of the total available will be reimbursed through the FS-25 process

• Information about additional requirements that must be met in order to obtain full reimbursement will be provided at a later time.

Instructions to Claim Funds

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Information on claiming ARRA funds is available on the NYSED Grants Finance website at:

http://www.oms.nysed.gov/cafe/guidance/arrapayments.html

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Changes to ARRA Quarterly Reporting

2010 Quarter 1

Ending 3/31/10

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• Report only jobs retained or created and directly funded with ARRA

• Do not report jobs indirectly retained or created but funded with other non-ARRA funds

• Report jobs retained and created during the reporting quarter only

• Do not report jobs cumulatively from previous quarters

Job Estimates

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• Continue to calculate FTE’s based on the number of hours worked divided by the number of hours of full time employment

– Ex: Teacher worked 520 hours which was a full time schedule and another 65 hours for an after school program which were additional hours beyond full time employment

(520 + 65 = 585)/520 = 1.12 FTEs

Job Estimates

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• Report actual payments to vendors during the period July 1, 2009 through March 15, 2010

• Do not report estimated payments for the full school year

Changes to Vendor Information

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For Further Information• Supplemental Application Guidance:

http://usny.nysed.gov/arra/esf

• Supplemental Application Questions:

– arraesfapp@mail.nysed.gov

– (518) 474-3936

• Grants Finance Issues:http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/mgtserv

• SEDDAS Help Line: (518) 473-8832

• Other ARRA Issues: http://usny.nysed.gov/arra

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Questions?