Category: Funding

Maine DOE Seeks Proposals for 21st Century Community Learning Center Programs

The Maine Department of Education is pleased to announce the release of a request for proposals (RFP) seeking bids from interested parties to implement comprehensive 21st Century Community Learning Center (21st CCLC) programs in 2019-2020.  It is anticipated that an estimated $1.75M will be available to issue grant awards later this year.

21st Century Community Learning Center Programs RFP (PDF)

Authorized under Title IV, Part B of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Act of 2015, the 21st CCLC program provides competitive grant funding to support before school, after school, and summer learning programs that focus on improving the academic performance of students in Pre-Kindergarten through grade 12.

The primary purpose of Maine’s 21st CCLC program is to provide school and community partnerships with funding to establish or expand programs that provide students in high-need, economically-disadvantaged communities with academic enrichment opportunities designed to complement their traditional school day curriculum.  In addition, these programs can provide a broad array of additional support services related to overall student health and well-being.

Local 21st CCLC programs – which can be located in elementary schools, secondary schools or similarly accessible community facilities – provide high quality support services to students during non-school hours.  As such, these programs also support working parents and families by providing safe, supportive learning environments for students at times when school is not in session.

The request for proposal (RFP), which includes information regarding eligibility, program requirements, and more, is available here. An informational webinar for this RFP will be posted to the Department’s application website on January 17, 2018.  It is strongly encouraged that interested parties view this presentation prior to completing an application for 21st CCLC program funding.

Below is the anticipated timeline for the Department’s 2019 21st CCLC grant competition:

Date Task
January 8, 2019 Grant Application Released to Public
January 17, 2019 Informational Webinar Posted Online
January 31, 2019 Deadline for Submission of Questions in Response to RFP
February 14, 2019 Interested Parties Submit Letter of Intent to Apply
April 4, 2019 Application Deadline
April 2019 – May 2019 Peer Review of Applications
May 2019 Grant Award Notifications
July 1, 2019 Grant Award Start Date

Please be advised that the dates above are subject to change. Interested parties must consult the RFP document for the most accurate dates and deadlines regarding this opportunity.

For more information on the 21st Century Community Learning Center (21st CCLC) Program, contact Federal Grant Coordinator, Travis Doughty, at travis.w.doughty@maine.gov.

MaineCare Seed Adjustments to be Made; Review Q119 Reports by January 18, 2019

The recovery of Q119 MaineCare Seed will occur in the January 2019 subsidy payment and the Maine DOE is asking School Administrative Units (SAUs) to review their reports by January 18, 2019 to ensure accurate adjustments to subsidy. SAU staff must review student by student claims on both the public and private MaineCare reports for Q119 by January 18, 2019.

To access the MaineCare Seed reports, please follow the instructions below.

  1. Log into NEO
    As in the past, if a new staff member needs permission to access this module, a request from the Superintendent to the Maine DOE helpdesk will be necessary. The helpdesk contact information is medms.helpdesk@maine.gov or 207-624-6896. Anyone who currently has Special Education Director permissions to the Special Education module, will automatically have permissions to access MaineCare reports.
  2. Click on the Student Data tab
  3. Click on the Student Report tab
  4. Select MaineCare in the Reporting Area drop-down
  5. Choose the quarterly Seed report and the report type (private/public)
  6. Click view report button
  7. Once the report appears on the screen, choose the export button.

    Export Button
  8. You may export the reports to Excel but, please be aware that there may be multiple worksheet tabs within the workbook. Save the file to your computer.

If you disagree that a particular student or time period should be on the report, please provide the reason that you disagree along with the following to Denise.towers@maine.gov.

  • Identify the type of report (public or private) and the quarter in which the claims are located.
  • State Student ID
  • Service provided dates (to and from)
  • Total amount of Seed being disputed

Summer services: Students must be enrolled for the time period they are receiving educational services. This means that students that are receiving extended school year services in district or extended school year services in an out of district placement must have a primary enrollment for that time period in order for the MDOE to have the most accurate enrollment data to determine SAU responsibility for MaineCare Seed.

For more information or technical assistance related to MaineCare Seed, please contact Denise.towers@maine.gov.

 

Proposed Rule Chapter 8: Rules Relating to the use of Essential Programs and Services Targeted Funds for Economically Disadvantaged Students

The Maine Department of Education is proposing a new Rule Chapter 8 that outlines the ways in which districts may use the targeted funding allocation, which was enacted by the 128th Legislature, to support economically disadvantaged students. The purpose of the funding is to increase achievement among economically disadvantaged students through extended learning programs. The rule includes eligible uses of the funds and a process for districts to certify the appropriate use of these funds.

The proposed rule was posted in the Secretary of State Newspaper ad on December 19, 2018. The comment period ends January 18, 2019 at 5 PM.

The proposed Rule Chapter 8 can be found here (proposed rules are listed in order by rule number).

Comments can be submitted by email to Tyler Backus at tyler.backus@maine.gov or by mail to Tyler Backus, 23 State House Station, Augusta, Maine 04333

McKinney Vento Sub-grant for the Education of Homeless Students

The Maine DOE congratulates the Bangor School Department for being conditionally awarded a $40,000 McKinney Vento sub-grant for the education of homeless students.  Through a focused needs assessment, Bangor discovered that their homeless students need help catching up to their peers in language arts, math, and high school credit accrual.  Bangor has committed to using the grant award in part to reduce school social worker caseloads, enabling them to coordinate more regularly with guidance staff, monitor and support students’ academic success, and focus on meeting identified needs of homeless students and families.

Maine DOE annually receives approximately $200,000 in federal McKinney Vento sub-grant funds to distribute statewide to supplement annual homeless education resources, such as Title IA funds. Maine DOE remains committed to distributing the unawarded sub-grant funds across the state so that they are broadly available to address statewide concerns and documented local needs.  A new RFP will be issued in early 2019 for the remaining funds. Districts who were not awarded a grant in this round are encouraged to apply.

If you have questions about homeless education or the McKinney Vento sub-grant program, contact Gayle Erdheim, gayle.erdheim@maine.gov or (207) 624-6637.

 

Reminder: Annual Audit Requirements

Iinitial report to the Commissioner is due November 1st:

Pursuant to Title 20-A MRSA 6051 §4, statements of assurance and Maine Education Financial System reconciliations are due to the Department by November 1, 2018. Please submit via email to DOE.audit@maine.gov . Any adjustments identified by these reconciliations should be uploaded to the Maine Education Financial System in NEO by November 30, 2018.

Annual Audit Reports Due December 30th:

  • Annual audit reports are due within six months after the end of the audit period (e.g., reports for the fiscal year ending June 30th are due on or before December 30th).
    • Per statute, it is the school board’s responsibility to submit the annual audit document unless it is included in the engagement letter that the audit firm will submit the audit to the Department on behalf of the school board.
  • Per statute, the auditor is required to review the audit with the school board.
    • Municipal school units are required to submit either a combined annual audit or a school department audit and a municipal audit to the Department. The municipal annual report (a.k.a. town report) cannot be accepted in lieu of the complete municipal annual audit.
  • Per statute, Maine DOE must receive a SEFA (Schedule of Expenditure of Federal Awards), which includes federal award expenditures for all reporting entities, regardless if a Single Audit (formerly A-133 audit) is not required to be conducted. The SEFA provides information needed by Maine DOE to conduct sub-recipient monitoring as required by US DOE and is due at the time of the annual audit.
    • In municipal school units where a combined audit is not conducted, Maine DOE is to receive two audits: an audit with a SEFA for the school department and a city/town including a SEFA.
  • If a management letter is prepared by the auditor, a copy must be submitted to MDOE with the annual audit as this letter provides MDOE with information needed to conduct sub-recipient monitoring as required by US DOE.
  • Please submit all annual audit documents, reports, information requests, questions and other audit correspondence via email to DOE.Audit@Maine.gov or via the direct link provided on the Fiscal Review and Compliance webpage.

Extensions and Subsidy Payments

It is the Superintendent’s responsibility to request audit deadline extensions and/or exceptions, regardless if the request is for the municipal audit and/or school department audit. The forms are available on the Fiscal Review and Compliance webpage.

  • Extensions will expire no less than 30 days from the date the extension was submitted.
  • Extension requests will be considered until June 30th (six months after due date); extensions will not be valid after June 30th and all municipalities and school administrative units with overdue audits that have not submitted an extension request before May 30th will be place on the hold subsidy list and subsidy will be withheld in July.
  • Submitting the required documents will be the only way to be removed from the Hold Subsidy List.

For more information, review statutory requirements in Title 20-A MRSA 6051 §4 or email to DOE.Audit@Maine.gov.

PRIORITY NOTICE: EPS Oct 1 Enrollment/Special Ed (EF-S-05) Reporting Deadline Extended to November 5, 2018

The Maine Department of Education would like to inform all public schools, charter schools, and private schools that receive public funds, that the EPS Oct 1 Enrollment/Special Ed (EF-S-05) Report Certification deadline that was originally scheduled for October 31, 2018 has been extended to the end of day on Monday, November 5, 2018.

Ensure the data has been reviewed and is correct prior to certification.  Please do not certify your data if it is not correct. Contact the DOE Data Helpdesk at 624-6896 or medms.helpdesk@maine.gov if you have questions about data issues that need to be resolved.

If you have made corrections or changes in your Student Information System and have uploaded those changes to Synergy; you must also request a “refresh” of the EPS Oct 1 Enrollment/Special Ed (EF-S-05) Report in NEO in order for those changes to be reflected in that report.  This is not done automatically and requires the “Uncertify/Refresh Data” button to be pushed in the report in NEO.

If you’re not sure how to refresh the EPS Oct 1 Enrollment/Special Ed (EF-S-05) report, see the instructions entitled “Where is the Refresh Button” located on the Data Reporting Instructions webpage.

Further questions should be directed toward the DOE Data Helpdesk at 624-6896 or medms.helpdesk@maine.gov.

October EPS Data Team Open Question and Answer Webinar

If you have questions about October EPS processing and how to finish up (or start…), please join the data team for a webinar on Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Data Team – October EPS Open Question and Answer Session

Wed, Oct 24, 2018 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM EDT

For additional information or questions contact Maine DOE Education Data Manager, Charlotte M. Ellis at 207-624-6696–desk or Charlotte.Ellis@maine.gov.

 

Follow Up Regarding Private School Approval

Attention Private School Administrators and Public School Administrators:

This communication provides detailed guidance regarding timelines and tuition considerations for Private Schools seeking approval for the receipt of public funds for 2018-19.

As stated in the Maine Department of Education’s (DOE) October 2, 2018 Administrative Letter #19: 2018-2019 Clarifications Regarding Private School Approval and Publicly Funded Private School Students, there is a new overall 2018 deadline of October 15 for the annual report and documentation, NEO staff entry, and first reporting of attendance data to be submitted by private schools.

This deadline will also apply to October counting for subsidy purposes. As the private school approval and certification processes are currently backlogged due to numerous factors, tuition will not be withheld for schools that received basic school approval and were approved for receipt of public tuition funds as of the end of FY 18 school year and are seeking approval for FY 19 school year; however, subsidy will as always be dependent on accurate reporting of October 1st enrollment counts. In order for an accurate enrollment count and to ensure that private schools are on track to receive the appropriate tuition allocation, the following guidelines should be closely followed:

    1. Private schools who have submitted or are intending to submit a school approval annual report seeking approval for the receipt of public funds for 2018-19 must submit NEO Maine Schools organizational information prior to October 15. The NEO Maine Schools form is required by all public and private schools to inform the Maine Department of Education of school and district contact information, changes in grade spans, and other school-related information. If Maine Schools is not submitted, EPS cannot be processed. It is imperative that your school’s report be submitted as soon as possible;
    2. The first instance of submitting attendance for publicly funded students at private schools, which is due quarterly, must be entered by October 15 and includes the attendance period July 1 through September 30. The next reporting period (to be entered by January 15) will require updated attendance numbers through December, and so on. More details about attendance data submission, and a helpful training manual document, can be found in NEO Student Attendance Reporting and Attendance Manual Entry Guide.
    3. Publicly funded October 1st student enrollment data must be entered by October 15; certified by October 31.
    4. NEO Staff entry should be complete, with clearances and appropriate certification ensured, as soon as possible before, during, or after submission of the annual report for school approval consideration. Any certification/clearance issues should be cleared up as soon as possible, in order to ensure approval.

 

 

Please contact the MEDMS Help Desk at 624-6896, or MEDMS.Helpdesk@maine.gov for assistance with NEO or the student information system. Please contact the DOE Certification Team at cert.DOE@maine.gov for certification system questions. Please contact Paula Gravelle at 624-6792 or Paula.B.Gravelle@maine.gov for questions about tuition. And, for questions about school approval please call Pamela Ford-Taylor at 624-6617, or Pamela.Ford-Taylor@maine.gov.

Seeking Proposals for McKinney-Vento Sub-grant Program for the Education of Homeless Children

The Maine Department of Education is pleased to announce that it is seeking proposals for the McKinney-Vento Sub-grant program for the education of homeless children and youth.  Proposals will be accepted from School Administrative Unites seeking to develop, implement, or expand programs that improve the academic success of students identified as homeless under the McKinney-Vento Act.

The Department is interested in proposals that are focused on narrowing the achievement disparity between Maine’s homeless students and their stably housed peers.  These grants are renewable for a total of three years, with a maximum annual award of $40,000.  The application deadline is October 31, 2018.

The RFP (#201809192) for this competitive grant, including details of the application process, can be found on the State of Maine Division of Purchases website.

Applicants who submitted proposals under the withdrawn July RFP (#201806134) are encouraged to reapply.  New applicants are also welcome.

For more information on the McKinney-Vento Sub-grant program or other homeless education issues, contact Gayle Erdheim, State Homeless Education Consultant, at gayle.erdheim@maine.gov or (207) 624-6637.

 

Reports That Impact the ED 279 Subsidy Printout or Other GPA Funding

There are certain data points collected by the Maine DOE that have a direct impact on the calculation of subsidy. The Department has prepared a chart that shows the data that impacts the ED 279 subsidy printouts, when that data is due, and when any required revisions must be submitted in order to be included in the FY 20 EPS Funding Calculation.

Data that impacts the ED 279 subsidy printouts (PDF) »

Please contact Paula Gravelle at Paula.B.Gravelle@maine.gov with any questions.