Summer…No Holiday for Federal Programs

It’s July, and I imagine people have asked you, “How are you enjoying your summer?”  There appears to be the assumption that federal programs take a summer break like students take a summer break.  Not so!  Right?  For many of us, summer is when we can get things done.  So amidst the various conferences and maybe a vacation, if lucky, what needs to be done?

The fiscal year ends on June 30.  Therefore, I like to print off my expenditure budget reports showing the remaining balances.  These balances will allow me to check for carryover when the new budget year is entered into the financial package.  I make sure the correct carryover amount plus the June 30 year-to-date expended amount equals the budgeted amount written in the plan.  In addition, I use the reports to determine what needs to be spent before September 30 and work with principals to ensure funds are expended.  I want to ensure the district meets the 85% carryover for the FY23 Title I budget (and Title V if the district has one) and expend all funds for the FY21 and FY22 grants that close out on September 30.

The EL district plan must be reviewed and revised.  This plan must be school board approved annually.  In addition, you will want to make plans for disseminating and training on the FY24 EL District Plan.  Mississippi monitoring indicator  (NN-1) requires us to show documentation of the EL plan, board approval,  dissemination, and training on the plan.

The District Parent and Family Engagement Policy must be reviewed, revised, and board approved annually.  I review and revise my policy during my spring planning meeting. The policy is then board-approved and disseminated on the district website and via social media.

The McKinney-Vento homeless policy/procedures need to be reviewed and revised annually.  A Mississippi homeless monitoring indicator (CC-2) states, “recent revision and/or review to identify and remove any barriers for homeless students.”   If the document is called a procedure, it does not need board approval.   If it is a policy, then be sure to follow board requirements. You want to make sure that the revised date is on the procedure or policy.

Many districts conduct summer school using federal dollars.  The federal programs office is responsible for doing their due diligence and ensuring personnel are sufficient for the students enrolled.  Student/teacher ratios should be monitored based on student attendance.  In addition, teacher time sheets must be checked, verified, properly coded, and signed.  Time and Effort documentation will need to be kept for these teachers.

Many districts also conduct professional development training in the summer using federal dollars.  The trainings may be through attendance at conferences and/or performed in-house.  The logistics for the travel and reimbursement of travel are time-consuming.  In-house professional development requires ensuring the content of the training matches what is written in the Title plan, maintaining proper sign-in sheets and agendas, and approving the time sheets for teacher payment. Time and Effort documentation will need to be kept for these teachers.

I also use the summer to review my school and district monitoring documentation from the prior year.  Even though I have the schools submit the documentation throughout the year, many documents are due at the end of the year.  It makes monitoring much easier when documentation is uploaded and checked in the year the events occur, rather than waiting for monitoring to be announced.

Summer is busy, but finding time to relax and have time away from work is essential!  Find time to take a vacation.  Leave the work at the office, and don’t check your email.  I promise you that it will be there when you return!

Happy Summer!