COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
P.O. BOX 2120
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA 23218-2120
SUPTS. MEMO NO. 21
May 6, 2005
ADMINISTRATIVE
|
TO: |
Division
Superintendents |
|
FROM: |
Jo Lynne
DeMary Superintendent
of Public Instruction |
|
SUBJECT: |
OMEGA - School
Division Access for Submission of Federal Grant Applications and
Reimbursement Requests |
As reported in Informational Superintendents
Memorandum No. 30, the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) is developing an
automated grant reimbursement and application system. The goal of the Online Management of Education Grant Awards
(OMEGA) system is to eliminate most, if not all, of the paper submissions
currently associated with grant applications and reimbursement requests,
resulting in a more effective and efficient process. This memorandum outlines two new processes that will be conducted
through OMEGA as well as additional information related to OMEGA.
As discussed in the technical assistance workshops
offered on April 19 and 20 (see Informational Superintendents Memorandum No.
49, dated March 4, 2005), the individual and/or consolidated applications must
be submitted via the OMEGA system between June 1, 2005, and June 30, 2005. At least one person at the school division
level will need to be involved in this automated process to upload completed
applications for the nine grants listed below:
The superintendents (or authorized designees) and
board chairpersons signatures on the application cover page certify that the
local educational agency will implement the general and program specific
assurances. OMEGA provides two options
for providing the certification to VDOE:
Option 1:
After the application(s) has been uploaded to OMEGA, the division superintendent or an authorized superintendents designee approves the application in OMEGA prior to the June 30 deadline. Under this option, the need to send the paper copy of the signed application cover page(s) to VDOE is eliminated. The application cover page(s) signed by the division superintendent and the local school board chairperson should be retained and filed at the local level.
Option 2:
The division superintendent requests that a Department of Education employee serve as the OMEGA LEA Application Designee and allows the VDOE employee to approve the application in OMEGA on behalf of the division superintendent. If this option is requested, the application cover page signed by the division superintendent and the local school board chairperson must be mailed to the department to the attention of Duane C. Sergent, Program Administration and Accountability, and received by VDOE prior to the June 30, 2005, deadline.
By June
3, each school division must indicate its selected option for approving the
application by returning Attachment A, Form A02 - Application Approval
Responsibility.
As discussed in Informational Superintendents
Memorandum No. 30, we expect that by June 1, 2005, all school divisions will be
able to use the OMEGA system to submit reimbursement requests for the seven
pilot grants listed in the memorandum.
After July 1, 2005, all reimbursement requests for
the seven pilot awards identified in Informational Superintendents Memorandum
No. 30 must be submitted via OMEGA.
Other federal grants will be added as early as July 1, 2005. After a grant has been added to OMEGA, all
requests for reimbursement of expenditures for that grant must be submitted via
OMEGA from that point forward. As
grants become available for reimbursement through OMEGA, you will be notified
by Superintendents Memorandum. A
division superintendent or superintendents designee will not be required to
approve individual reimbursement requests.
Division superintendents may use the forms referenced below to designate
an employee responsible for financial matters to approve reimbursement requests
and budget amendments in OMEGA.
To
facilitate user set up and to establish training needs, forms were sent on
March 29, 2005, to school division OMEGA contacts identified in the
attachment to Informational Superintendents Memorandum No. 30, or to the
contacts requested by the school division.
Blank copies of these forms have been provided as Attachments B F of
this memorandum.
Initial training was provided in 10 locations around
the state during the month of April.
This training included:
Training
or help desk support will also be provided on an ongoing basis for:
We appreciate the efforts of the school divisions
that have already returned the forms included as Attachments B F. For those divisions, only Attachment A is
due by June 3, 2005. Other divisions
must return Attachments A F no later than June 3, 2005. Forms should be mailed to:
Department
of Education
Attn:
Accounting Department
P.
O. Box 2120
Richmond,
VA 23218-2120
As this system is implemented, your divisions input
will be greatly appreciated. If you
have any questions or concerns, or you need editable versions of these forms,
please contact Karen H. Lux, associate director of grants administration, at mailto:karen.lux@doe.virginia.gov
or at 804-371-6877, or Marie G. Williams, accounting director, at mailto: marie.Williams@doe.virginia.gov
or at 804-225-2040. You may also
contact Dan Timberlake, assistant superintendent for finance, at 804-225-2025.
JLD/MGW/khl
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/administrators/superintendents_memos/2005/adm021a.pdf
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/administrators/superintendents_memos/2005/adm021b.pdf
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/administrators/superintendents_memos/2005/adm021c.pdf
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/administrators/superintendents_memos/2005/adm021d.pdf
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/administrators/superintendents_memos/2005/adm021e.pdf
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/administrators/superintendents_memos/2005/adm021f.pdf