Superintendent’s

Circular

School Year 2006-2007

NUMBER:

FIN-10

DATE:

September 1, 2006

GRANTS GUIDELINES

GRANT DEVELOPMENT

All BPS staff, parents and partners are encouraged to learn about grant opportunities and to apply for grants from a variety of sources. Schools receive notices about grant opportunities on a regular basis, and are welcome to seek more information in the Office of Federal & State Programs catalogs, books and examples of successful letters of inquiry and grant applications. Schools may arrange for grant writing workshops and assistance by calling the Office of Federal & State Program 617-635-9700. For current information on-line, go to MyBPS and click ‘Grants’ under Central Administration and/or go to directly the Office of Federal & State Programs website at www.bpsgrants.org.

For best results, grant development should be a team process so that those who will have responsibility for implementing the grant program are involved in planning. Headmasters, principals and other administrative heads must approve grant proposals for programs that will take place under their supervision. Headmasters, principals and other administrative heads must inform their supervisors in advance about their grant development activities to ensure that the whole organization is informed and the instructional focus is maintained. To ensure coordination of effort, please keep the Office of Federal & State Programs informed about your plans to apply for grant funding from any source.

The steps in the grants development process are:

1. Request for proposals (RFP) – the funding source publishes a notice about a grant opportunity.
2. Inquiry – someone calls the funding source and gets more information about the opportunity, checks with supervisors, and rounds up support.
3. Decision - The headmasters, principal and other administrative head checks with the Office of Federal & State Programs to find out if the grant is open for application. Generally, a local or regional foundation or corporate opportunity will be open, and is almost always open if the source will accept more than one application from the district. Most national foundation opportunities, such as Gates or Broad are open to districts rather than schools. State and federal grant opportunities are open only to the district. Schools that wish to participate in a state or federal grant application should call the Office of Federal & State Programs and ask to be part of the planning process.
4. Proposal development – a team agrees on a plan that will meet the funding source’s requirements, a supervisor approves the plan and a writer prepares a proposal and a budget. If using technology, involve the Office of Instructional Technology.

5. Proposal submission – the proposal is submitted to the Office of Federal & State Programs for approval by the Superintendent and submitted to the funding source by the deadline set by the funding source.
6. Grant award – the funding source decides to award the grant and sends an award notice to the contact person identified in the proposal.
7. Set Up an Account – The contact person brings the award letter to the Office of Federal & State Programs and learns how to set up an account either with the city or in BEDF. Schools and offices can’t receive money directly. BPS does the accounting either through PeopleSoft for state and federal grants or BEDF for foundation and corporate grants or individual gifts. Grants and gifts may not be placed in school activity accounts.
8. Spend the Grant – the school or office uses the money to carry out a program or project during the time allotted by the funding source. Positions are filled, people are paid, goods and services are bought, the money is used for the purposes for which it was awarded
9. Report on the Grant – the school or office responsible for the grant is responsible for collecting data about the activities and results of the grant program and reporting to the funding source.
10. Sustaining grant funded programs - successful programs can be sustained by moving some or all elements to GSP or other funding or by obtaining another grant. There is no guarantee of sustainability.

GRANT GUIDELINES

Headmasters, Principals and other administrative department heads are responsible for implementing the following rules for seeking and managing grants.

1. Grant programs must have a clear relationship to implementing the citywide

goals stated in Focus on Children II:

§ Improve teaching & learning to enable all students to achieve high standards of performance through six essentials of whole school improvement:

- Focus on literacy and mathematics
- Looking at students work and data
- Targeted professional development
- Use of best practices
- Aligned resources
- Engaged family, community, and partners
- Safe, caring learning places
-

§ Provide effective operations and business support

§ Provide effective, respectful communications

2. Grant proposals must have internal approval before they can be accepted. No grant program may be implemented without School Committee approval. Use attachment #1 ‘ School Committee Acceptance Form’ for approvals.

3. Before submitting any grant to an outside funding source, obtain the Superintendent’s signature through the Office of Federal & State Programs. This rule applies to all grant proposals - state, federal, foundation, corporate, or individual donor grants - there are no exceptions. Only the Superintendent is authorized by the School Committee to sign grant proposals for BPS schools and offices.

To get the Superintendent’s signature and School Committee acceptance, submit your full proposal prior to the submission deadline to the Office of Federal & State Programs, 5th floor, Court Street.

4. Grants must supplement and not supplant locally funded programs. This means grant money must not be used replace positions previously funded with local money and should not be used to fund non-salary items that are the responsibility of the local school district.

5. Grant programs generally should be self-sufficient. Funds must cover all expenses of the program, including wages, benefits, supplies, transportation, and fees. The Budget Office must approve any exception. If technology is involved, be sure to consult with the offices of Instructional Technology and Information Services to be sure all related costs are covered. Use Attachment #2“Budget Guidelines for Grants: How Much Do Things Cost?” for accurate and current salary, benefits, and non-salary figures.

6. All BPS policies, procedures, rules, and regulations apply to grant funded programs. Regular personnel, budget and business procedures apply to grant funded programs in the same way they apply to locally funded (General School Purposes, GSP) programs. Refer to appropriate Budget, Business and Human Resources memoranda for rules and procedures.

7. Schools may not accept or manage grants or cash gifts. Grants may NOT be placed in School Activity Accounts. The BPS Finance Office and the City Treasurer receive state and federal grants. The Boston Educational Development Foundation (BEDF) on behalf of schools and offices receives foundation and corporate grants.

8. Headmasters, principals and other administrative heads are responsible for managing the grants budgeted to their schools or offices. Each school and office enters its own requisitions and personnel transactions to spend their grant funds.

9. State and federal grant accounts must be established for each fiscal year: Accounts are not automatically opened or carried from year to year. Upon receipt of a grant award notice, the administrative head who submitted the grant for approval by the Superintendent is responsible for working with the Office of Federal & State Programs and Budget Offices to establish an account for the grant on PeopleSoft. Call Monica Roberts 635-7936 (Federal & State Programs) or Anita Phillip 635-9573 (Budget).

10. For transfers in grant budgets, use Peoplesoft Financials. You may make transfers among grant lines but not into or out of a grant to change to grant total. You may NOT change the education plan of the grant.

11. Spend all the grant money before the grant expires. Grant funds must be fully encumbered within the time period of the grant. Spend your grant funds early in the fiscal year. No transactions may be made after the expiration period of a grant. Grant funds are governed by the same rules and deadlines as GSP funds. The deadline for requisitioning funds from grants that expire on June 30th is April 15th. The deadline for requisitioning funds from grants that expire on August 31st is June 30th.

12. Program reports are the responsibility of the administrative head supervising the grant. Financial reports and requests for revenue are the responsibility of the Business Office. Interim and final program reports required by the grantor must be submitted to the Business Department and to the state at the deadline set for each grant.

STATE AND FEDERAL GRANTS

Designated fund managers are responsible for knowing and following the rules and regulations for their grants. Regulations for state and federal grants are published in the Grants Management Procedural Manual published by the Bureau of Grants Management of the Massachusetts Department of Education. Federal grants are also subject to EDGAR, the United States Education Department General Administrative Regulations. Copies of both documents are available in the Office of Federal & State Programs and on-line at the state and federal Departments of Education websites. As a recipient of state and federal funds, BPS must meet requirements for purchasing, accounting, auditing, civil rights, access, and confidentiality. See Attachment #3 ‘ The Fund Manager’s Job”

For a current listing of BPS state and federal grants and their fund codes see either MyBPS Office of Federal & State Programs or www.bpsgrants.org.

FOUNDATION AND CORPORATE GRANTS (Private Funds)

Schools may not receive cash grants directly into activity accounts or any other accounts maintained by the school. They may solicit in-kind services and cash grants from private foundations and corporations but must submit all proposals for such private funding to the Superintendent through the Office of Federal & State Programs, see # 2 above. Grants from private sources (businesses, non-profit foundations and individuals) must be made either to the Boston Public Schools and accounted for through the procedures outlined above for state and federal grants or to the Boston Educational Development Foundation, Inc. (BEDF), BPS’s non-profit organization, and accounted for through the BEDF.

BEDF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit entity separate from but wholly controlled by the BPS. BEDF charges no management fee. Compensation paid to individuals through BEDF is subject to applicable state and federal taxes. BPS Headmasters, Principals, teachers, parent groups, and affiliated community groups are welcome to use BEDF to manage their grants from foundations, corporations, and individuals. See Deputy Superintendent’s Memorandum “Introduction to BEDF” for further information.

SCHOLARSHIPS AND AWARDS

Since 1647, individual donors have left money in trust to support scholarships and awards for students and schools. Examples include the Mary Dorothea Devereaux Awards, Boston Latin School Book Award and the Christopher Gibson Fund for schools in Dorchester. Funds held in trust are managed by the City Trust Office and distributed to schools annually through the Budget Department. Schools will be notified of trust awards for their schools through a Deputy Superintendent’s memorandum distributed by the Budget Office in April of each year.

PARTICIPATION IN GRANTS AWARDED TO COLLEGES, UNIVERSITIES AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS

BPS schools and offices may participate in grant programs written and received by other organizations. Inform supervisors about such participation, provide a copy of such proposals for the Superintendent and channel requests for support letters through the Office of Federal & State Programs. Substitutes and yellow bus field trips paid by other organizations: To arrange payment, submit to the Budget Office a check payable to City of Boston and an explanation on the letterhead of the donor stating 1.) schools involved; 2.) total amount to be paid; 3.) purpose of the payment and event and/or destination; 4.) dates of service or field trip; and 5.) BPS contact person. Use $112/day for substitutes and $140 each way or $280 per yellow bus round trip. If a school requires the bus to stay on site, it will cost $55 per hour for layover time. Outside Route 128 add $3.00 a mile and $55 per hour layover charge. The Budget Office will provide a position control number and/or yellow bus confirmation as needed upon proof of payment.

SUPPORT LETTERS

Support letters from the Superintendent strengthen your application and, generally, the Superintendent is pleased to sign a letter of support. To obtain a signature, write the support letter you want him to sign and e-mail it to mroberts@boston.k12.ma.us for printing on letterhead and signature. Support letters short and should include: the full address of the individual to whom the letter is addressed, an opening sentence that says the Superintendent is pleased to support your proposal a brief statement about what the funding will be used for and the benefit it is expected to bring. Be sure to include the name of the proposal and the name of the school and/or office involved. Signed letters will be returned by fax or mail as you request. Allow at least three days for the process.

Attachments:

Cover Memorandum for Grants Approval

FY 2006-2007 Budget Guidelines for Grants

The Grant Manager’s Job

For more information about this circular, contact:

Name:	Monica Roberts
Department:	Federal & State Programs
Mailing Address:	26 Court Street, Boston, MA 02108
Phone:	617-635-9700
Fax:	617-635-9221
E-mail:	mroberts@boston.k12.ma.us

Interim Superintendent Michael Contompasis
Attachment #1 Complete and submit with a full copy of your proposal to the Office of Federal & State Programs, 26 Court Street, Boston, MA 02108, for approval by the Superintendent and acceptance by the School Committee

SCHOOL COMMITTEE ACCEPTANCE FORM - Attach additional pages as necessary

Program Name
Program Status & Duration
Funding Source & Contact Information
Annual Amount
Matching
Start & End Dates
Subjects
School Committee Goals Check all that apply		· Whole School Improvement · Safe, Caring Learning Places · Literacy and/or Math · Student Work and Data · Operations and Business Support		· Best Practices Effective, Respectful Communications · Aligned resources · Family, Community & Partners · Professional Development
Program Locations
Program Description
Major Activities
Indicators of Success
Target Audience
Number of Students Served
Grades Served
Language Groups
External Partners
Grant Manager
Administrative Head/Supervisor
Signatures for internal approval:
	Name & Title		Signature & Date
BPS Grant Initiator

Administrative Head/Supervisor

Attachment #2

BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS BUDGET GUIDELINES FOR GRANTS

HOW MUCH DO THINGS COST?

FY 2006 - 2007 - Revised August 2006

SALARIES

Actual Salaries v. Average Salaries: Except for Title 1, when budgeting individuals who are already funded by a grant, budget their real salary amounts. Obtain actual salary information from Payroll at 635-9460.
			AVERAGE SALARIES
Expense Code			Expense Category	FY 2006 – 2007 Amount
Old		New
133		51102	Substitute, per day	$112
131		51002	Teacher, full-time	$70,256
131		51002	Teacher one day a week, FTE 0.2	$14,060
131		51002	Teacher two days a week FTE 0.4	$28,120
131		51002	Teacher three days a week FTE 0.6	$42,180
131		51002	Teacher four days a week FTE 0.8	$56,240
321		51019	Administrators,varies widely,call HR, 635-7738 average $78,309
331		51021	Itinerant Pupil Support	$79,260
342		51023	Program Support	$81,536
361		51024	Guidance	$78,853
511		51027	Secretary Clerical	$39,874
552		51034	Technical Support	$50,627
554		51036	Community Field Coordinator	$38,959
578		51039	Instructional Aide full-time	$23,566
578		51039	Instructional Aide one day	$4,625
588		51043	Bilingual Aide	$23,123
			PART TIME COMPENSATION
391	51202		Overtime rate for teachers	$35.68
			Stipends for grants funded work - you may use a lump sum rather than an hourly rate but may in no case exceed the hourly rate. Time sheets must document all stipend work.
			Translators, Roman alphabet per page for schools	$35
			Translators, non-Roman alphabet per page for schools	$45
513		51303	Part time clerical per day	$140
525		51203	Custodial overtime – time and one half, 4 hr minimum
541		51305	Parents, reimbursements for car fare and baby-sitting, no set rate
			Students, no set rate. Current state minimum wage	$6.75
555		51204	Non-academic overtime/ use for Security only; call 635-8000 for Security rates
			FRINGE BENEFITS
All individuals working 20 hours or more each week are entitled to fringe benefits. Budget benefits for all part time positions greater than 0.6
860		51401	Health Insurance, full-time	$10,979
			Health Insurance, one day week	$2,195
			Health Insurance, two day week	$4,390
			Health Insurance, three day week	$6,585
			Health Insurance, four day week	$8,780
865		51901	Medicare, staff hired after April 1, 1986	1.45% salary
880		51501	Pensions, applies to all grants	9% salary
890		51402	Health & Welfare teachers	$1,092
51402			Health & Welfare paraprofessionals	$626
51601			Unemployment	$215
51701			Workman's' Compensation	$322