COMMONWEALTH
OF VIRGINIA
DEPARTMENT
OF EDUCATION
P.O.
BOX 2120
RICHMOND,
VIRGINIA 23218-2120
SUPTS. MEMO NO. 33
May 31, 2002
ADMINISTRATIVE
|
TO: |
Division Superintendents |
|
FROM: |
Jo Lynne DeMary Superintendent of Public Instruction |
|
SUBJECT: |
Virginia Public School Authority Educational Technology Notes Update and Technology Support Payments (For the SOL Web-based Technology Initiative) |
The Virginia Public School Authority (VPSA) is conducting the second sale of
equipment notes, Series II, in the educational technology grant program
providing funding to school divisions to develop and implement the Standards of
Learning (SOL) Web-based Technology Initiative. Funding for this program is
targeted to achieve the following four goals:
The VPSA sold the Educational Technology Notes, Series II,
spring 2002 on May 8, 2002, and closed the notes on May 29, 2002. Proceeds of
the spring 2002 notes were made available for reimbursement of qualifying
expenditures to localities following the closing on May 29, 2002.
Attachment A to this memorandum lists the local grant
allocations for the Series II, spring 2002 VPSA note issue. Grants for the spring 2002 notes are based
on a grant of $26,000 per school and $50,000 per school division. Eligible schools include those reporting
fall membership as of September 30, 2001, as well as division and regional
vocational, regional special education centers, regular school year regional
Governors schools, regional alternative education centers and the Schools for
the Deaf and Blind. Localities and
regional centers are required to provide a match for the total equal to 20
percent of all grant amounts. At least
25 percent of the local match shall be used for teacher training in the use of
this technology.
Please note that beginning with the spring 2002 issue,
reimbursements for regional vocational, special education, Governors schools,
and regional alternative education programs will be made directly to the
regional centers from separate State Non-Arbitrage Program (SNAP) accounts
established specifically for regional centers.
School divisions will not be required to deposit the regional centers
share of the note proceeds in their account and then pass those proceeds to the
regional center. Please make sure the
correct regional center bank account number is included on page 3 of the
request for reimbursement form.
Consistent with previous VPSA notes, payment to school divisions
and regional centers will be on a reimbursement basis only. Localities and regional centers must first
make payments for the qualifying equipment purchased and then file a Series II
reimbursement request with the Department of Education. School divisions and regional centers that
adopted a reimbursement resolution and made expenditures prior to the issuance
of the spring 2002 notes are required to certify that all reimbursements are
qualifying reimbursements. Please note
that school divisions and regional centers may not be reimbursed for qualifying
expenditures incurred more than 60 days prior to the adoption of a
reimbursement resolution.
The Series II reimbursement request form is a downloadable
Excel template. This file is available
on the Department of Educations website at:
http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/Technology/soltech/docs/ReimburseSpr02Series2.xls
The Series II reimbursement form includes certification
provisions that incorporate federal and state requirements regarding capital
expenditures that qualify for reimbursement.
School divisions are primarily responsible for determining whether
requests for reimbursement are permissible under federal and state
requirements. Public school officials
should carefully read and initial the certification provisions to ensure that
none of their reimbursement requests violate any of the stated provisions.
Because the reimbursement request form incorporates the certification provisions, localities are not required to submit copies of supporting documentation to the Department of Education; however, copies of all supporting documents (invoices, work orders, statements, etc.) for which reimbursement is to be made must be retained by the school division for at least five years in the event an audit is required. All reimbursement requests for the VPSA spring 2002 notes issue must be made using the above-referenced Series II form. The Department of Education will review the reimbursement request and, when approved, file the request on behalf of the school division with the Virginia State Non-Arbitrage Program, which acts as investment and account manager for the note proceeds. Please note that no reimbursement requests for the spring 2002 Series II notes will be approved until the divisions Educational Technology Notes, Series I, spring 2001 note proceeds are spent.
Proceeds from the spring 2002 issue may not be used for
middle schools until all high schools in your division have achieved Stage 2
High School Readiness Certification. See Administrative
Supts. Memo No. 27, dated May 17, 2002, for additional information on
certification procedures. Also, the proceeds of the Series II notes may not be
used for elementary schools until all middle schools in your division have
achieved Stage 2 Middle School Readiness Certification. If expenditures for
middle or elementary schools are submitted prior to achieving the appropriate
certifications, those expenditures cannot be reimbursed until after the
certifications have been achieved.
Please submit all Series II requests for reimbursement using
the Series II reimbursement request form referenced above. E-mail your
completed request to Richard Schley at ISSUE2@mail.vak12ed.edu. In addition, please mail a signed copy of the
reimbursement form to the following address:
Richard
Schley
Instructional
Media and Training
James
Monroe Building 18th Floor
101
North 14th Street
Richmond,
VA 23219
No requests for reimbursement will be processed until the Department of Education has received both the electronic Series II form and your signed hardcopy Series II form with each certification initialed.
Educational Technology Notes, Series I, spring 2001:
As initially announced in Informational Supts. Memo No. 133, dated June 30, 2000, and outlined in Administrative Supts. Memo No. 21, dated May 18, 2001, the Educational Technology Notes, Series I, spring 2001, were sold by the VPSA in May 2001. Proceeds of the Series I notes were available for reimbursement of qualifying expenditures to school divisions on and after the closing date of May 30, 2001. For grant allocations of Series I VPSA notes, see Attachment A to Administrative Supts. Memo No. 21, dated May 18, 2001. These proceeds continue to be available to localities for reimbursement of qualifying expenditures for 18 months from the Series I closing date, or November 30, 2002. All reimbursement forms for the spring 2001 issue must be submitted to the Department no later than September 30, 2002.
For divisions that have not completed reimbursement of expenditures from the Series I, spring 2001 VPSA notes, the procedures outlined in Administrative Supts. Memo No. 21, dated May 18, 2001, should be followed, and the Series I reimbursement request form should be used. The Series I reimbursement request form is a downloadable Excel template available on the Department of Educations website at:
http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/Technology/soltech/docs/ReimburseReqSpring01.xls.
Educational Technology Notes, Series III, spring 2003:
Chapter 899, 2002 Acts of Assembly, provides for the Virginia Public School Authority (VPSA) to conduct a sale of equipment notes, Series III and Series IV to be issued in the spring of 2003 and 2004, respectively, to continue funding to school divisions to develop and implement the SOL Web-based Technology Initiative.
School divisions that have spent all of their
spring 2001 and spring 2002 note proceeds and adopt a reimbursement resolution
for the spring 2003 notes issue may make purchases in support
of the Web-based SOL Technology Initiative after July 1, 2002; however, please
be aware that the note proceeds will not be available for reimbursement until
after the closing of the notes sale, which will likely be in late spring 2003. Please be aware that, prior to incurring any
costs, the local school board must state its intention to use the proceeds of
the equipment notes to reimburse that payment. This must be done through a
reimbursement resolution adopted by the local school board. A sample resolution
is provided as Attachment B to this memorandum. Please note that localities may
not reimburse themselves for project-related expenditures incurred more than 60
days prior to the adoption of the resolution.
Technology Resource Assistants Payments:
In support of the Web-based SOL Technology Initiative, Technology Resource Assistant funds will be available again in fiscal year 2003 to provide school divisions with on-site technical support for the Web-based SOL Technology Initiative. These incentive payments will be based on the state share of $26,000 for every high school. For proposed funding amounts, see Regulatory Supts. Memo No. 1 dated March 15, 2002. Because these funds are part of a separate incentive-based program and are not part of the Educational Technology Notes Series issued by the VPSA, these funds cannot be requested through the previously mentioned reimbursement process. More specific information regarding this incentive program and the required certification form will be sent to school divisions in early fiscal year 2003. For additional information on the purpose of the Technology Resource Assistants program and the qualifying uses of the funds, please see the informational document available at:
http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/Technology/soltech/docs/TechAssistFunds03_04.pdf
If you have questions relating to the financing, revised
reimbursement form, or determination of qualifying reimbursements, please call
the budget staff at (804) 225-2025. If
you have questions relating to qualifying equipment that may be purchased from
the VPSA note proceeds (i.e., hardware, software) please call Richard Schley in
Instructional Media and Training at (804) 371-6882.
JLD/sjs/bkl
Attachments
/administrators/superintendents_memos/2002/adm033a.pdf
/administrators/superintendents_memos/2002/adm033b.pdf