Procedures for Administering District Minigrants

The purpose of this procedures manual is to provide information necessary to carry out your grant. You must follow the guidelines established by granting agencies and use the appropriate district forms in order to carry out your grant effectively. This on-line manual describes the procedures and forms you must use. Please contact the Project Development Office at 955-7605 if you have any questions.

Requisitions Grants Management Prohibited Activities

Regular and Warehouse Requisitions

All requests to spend funds must be made prior to spending the funds. A School Board of Alachua County requistion must be completed and sent to the Office of Project Development for Processing. Purchases made without the proper approval are considered unauthorized, and if you make such purchases, you may have to pay for them yourself.

Regular and Warehouse requisitions are entered electronically at your school, usually by the school secretary or bookkeeper. You need to tell this person that the materials you will be ordering will be purchased with grant money. He or she will need to contact the Office of Project Development (955-7605) to get the appropriate center/grant number, enter this number on your requisition, then place the requisition on hold. The Office of Project Development will be notified of the requisition on hold and will complete the coding, authorize the purchase, and forward the requistion through the purchasing system. If your order has attachments such as order forms, your school secretary should print a copy of the requisition and send it with the attachments to Project Development.

Bus Requisitions
Bus requisitions are entered electronically at your school. This is usually done by the school secretary or bookkeeper at least five days (5) but no more than 20 days in advance of the scheduled trip. Your school bookkeeper must contact the Office of Project Development to obtain the necessary center/grant number to use on the electronic bus requisition.

Consultant Services
Consultant services require that a contract be submitted at least three weeks before the consultant provides the services. When a contract is involved, two forms are necessary: Agreement for Services form and a regular requisition. The original signed "agreement for services" and a copy of the requisition should be sent to the Office of Project Development. The school and the consultant should each keep a copy.

If more than one consultant is used, or if the same consultant is used more than once during the school year, a requistion for a blanket purchase order may be used. You still need an Agreement for Services form.

In order to receive payment, consultant are required to sign an invoice for services after they are rendered. Send the completed invoice to the Office of Project Development for processing.

Invoices
All invoices should be processed promptly. Sign your name, write the date the invoice was received and send each invoice to the Office of Project Development for approval and processing.

Stipend Pay
In order to pay stipends, the Stipend Payroll Report form and the Daily Time Sheet for Payroll must be completed. The Stipend Payroll Report form and the Daily Time Sheet for Payroll are due in the Office of Project Development at least three (3) days prior to the date they are due in the payroll department. See your school secretary for the payroll deadline schedule.

Substitute Teachers
Complete an Employee In-County Assignment form or an Application for Leave for out-of-county meetings, accompanied by a Substitute Teacher Record form and send them to the Office of Project Development for approval and coding. Please allow enought time to compensate for truck mail turn around.

Printing
Use the School Board of Alachua County's Printing Department rather than outside vendors for printing. The Printing Department will work with you to meet your deadliens. Complete the Printing Order form and forward it to the Office of Project Development, with your request for approval and coding. Printing must be "camera ready." This means typed just as you want it to go out. You can then take the printing order to the Printing Department. Please allow at least five (5) working days for the Printing Department to complete the order.

Postage
Submit a completed requisition to the Office of Project Development for the purchase of stamps. The stamps will be delivered to you through truck mail.

Travel
If travel is occurring within the county, use the School Board approved county mileage chart (available from your school secretary) and submit all travel forms to the Office of Project Development for approval and coding.

For out-of-county traveil, you must submit an Application for leave form to the Office of Project Development prior to the trip. A per Diem Voucher form will be returned for you to complete. Use the official state mileage chart (available in the principal's office or from the American Automobile Association) to complete the official mileage.

Equipment
Use a permanent marker to label equipment purchased with grant funds. The funding source and the year purchased must be identified. Materials with a life expectancy of more than one year should also be identified this way.

Example:
 TITLE II
FY'03

Inventory
You must keep an inventory of equipment and materials with a life expectancy of more than one year that are purchased with grant funds. One copy of the inventory form should be kept in your file and a copy sent to the Office of Project Development. The materials should also be identified with the funding source and the year purchased.

Record Keeping
Documentattion is very important in a grant. There should be a clear audit trail that anyone can follow. You create this trail by keeping a permanent, up-to-date file on your grant. Your file should include copies of the following:
  1. Grant Proposal
  2. Correspondence to and from the Office of Project Development
  3. Copies of requisitions
  4. Budget amendments
  5. Inventory list
  6. Evaluation list
  7. Any logs or other information you describe in your grant proposal

Amendments
Prior approval of the grantor is required in order to change the budget, scope, or objectives of your project or to add other provisions not included in your original approved project. You must notify the Office of Project Development in writing of any changes you need to make. The Office of Project Development will notify you of the approval or disapproval of the amendment.

Evaluation Requirements
An evaluation form will be sent to you towards the end of your grant period. It is important for you to complete it as thorughoughly and accurately as possible and return it by the specified deadline.

Copyrights
Copyrights to books, publications, films, software or other materials developed through a grant belong to the School Board of Alachua County except as otherwise provided in the terms and conditions of the grant agreement and regulations. The Federal Government and the State of Florida retin the right to produce, translate, use and dispose of these products, or may also designate others to do so for government purposes.
Funding Source Attribution
A statement of funding source attribution should be placed on all printed material, videos, or other publicity associated with the product. The following is an example of funding source attribution that you can adapt: "This project is funded by a Title VI Minigrant through the School Board of Alachua County, Florida."
Crimes
Activities prohibited by law include: (1) kickbacks; (2) bribery, graft, and conflicts of interest; (3) conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims; (4) false, fictitious, or fraudulent claims; and (5) federally protected activities.

Project administrators must refrain from engaging in such activities. You must also inform the Office of Project Development and the school principal if you have any reason to believe anyone doing business with the Alachua County School System is engaging in such activities.

Lobbying
Grant funds may not be used to lobby Congress directly or indirectly by either intending or designing to influence a member of Congress in any manner, or to favor or oppose, by vote, or otherwise, any legislation or appropriation by Congress. If the project adminsitrator wishes to transmit information or policy recommendations to a legislator, the administrator will (a) advise his/her department head, and (b) after receiving department head approval, communicate the recommended information or policy statement to the Office of Project Development, which will then take the necessary action.

Purchase of Food and Awards
Grant funds may not be used to purchase food for consumption or to purchase awards. Awards are defined as certificates, plaques, trophies, ribbons, etc.

Alachua County Teachers seeking more information should contact
Donna Omer, Ed.D., Director, or Judith Kendall, Project Development Specialist
Project Development, School Board of Alachua County, 620 East University Avenue, Gainesville, FL 32601-5448, USA
(352) 955-7605