COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

P.O. BOX 2120

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA 23218-2120

SUPTS. MEMO NO. 30

February 4, 2005

INFORMATIONAL

TO:	Division Superintendents
FROM:	Jo Lynne DeMary Superintendent of Public Instruction
SUBJECT:	Online Management of Education Grant Awards

The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) is developing an automated grant reimbursement and application system. The goal of the new system is to eliminate most, if not all, of the paper submissions currently associated with grant applications and reimbursement requests. Upon completion, the Online Management of Education Grant Awards (OMEGA) system will enable school divisions and other grant subrecipients to:

• Prepare and submit grant applications electronically;
• Submit grant budget amendment requests electronically;
• Review real-time award balances for all open awards;
• Use a consistent system for preparing, approving, and submitting grant reimbursement requests;
• Enter data via file upload or online forms; and,
• Review bulletin board type communications.

OMEGA will be implemented in two phases. The first phase will focus on electronic submission of grant reimbursements for selected federal awards. We expect that by June 1, 2005, all school divisions will be using the system to submit reimbursement requests for the seven grants listed below. Other grants may be added to this list and will be available on July 1, 2005. The first seven grants include:

• NCLB, Title I, Part A: Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies (CFDA 84.010);
• NCLB, Title II, Part A: Teacher and Principal Training and Recruiting Fund (CFDA 84.367);
• NCLB, Title II, Part D: Enhancing Education Through Technology (CFDA 84.318);
• NCLB, Title IV, Subpart 1: Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities (CFDA 84.186);
• NCLB, Title V, Part A: Innovative Programs (CFDA 84.298);
• IDEA, Section 619 Preschool (CFDA 84.173); and,
• IDEA, Section 611 Flow Through (CFDA 84.027).

The second phase will allow school divisions to accomplish additional functions related to grant administration within OMEGA. In addition to increasing the number of federal grants reimbursable through the Web, the following online functionality will be implemented:

• Grant applications
• Award notifications
• Budget transfers between grants (NCLB Transferability)

As a Web-based application, OMEGA will:

• Require Internet access (preferably high-speed), and a browser (Netscape 6 or higher, IE 5.5 or higher, or 5.1 or higher for MAC);

• Use VDOEs Single Sign-On for Web Systems (SSWS), the agencys secure Web portal through which school divisions currently access existing Web applications; and,
• Allow creation of a request via manual data entry, file upload, or a combination of both.

Additional information will be provided as this system is developed. Several school divisions have agreed to be the first divisions to receive training and to use the online reimbursement request feature outlined in Phase I. Each month, more school divisions will be added to OMEGA with the goal of having all divisions trained and using OMEGA no later than June 1, 2005.

Training in the use of OMEGA will be made available by the department. A new Grants Administration Unit, established in the accounting office of the Division of Finance, will contact your school divisions fiscal and grant staff to discuss the timing of training and implementation for your school division. These discussions will include:

• Determining the employees to be trained and provided access to OMEGA for data entry and for approval;
• Establishing the initial set up of user access to OMEGA within VDOEs Single Sign-On for Web Systems(SSWS)by VDOE, based on written approval by the school division superintendent;
• Providing regional training sessions and meetings;
• Offering online training sessions and meetings;
• Using the help desk; and,
• Posting answers to frequently asked questions on the OMEGA Bulletin Board.

To facilitate these discussions, we hope to use your finance director as your divisions primary point of contact for implementing OMEGA (see Attachment A). If your finance director is someone other than the individual listed on Attachment A, or if the primary point of contact for this project should be a different person, please let us know.

As this system is implemented, your divisions input will be greatly appreciated. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Karen H. Lux mailto:karen.lux@doe.virginia.gov associate director of grants administration at 804-371-6877, or Marie G. Williams mailto: marie.Williams@doe.virginia.gov accounting director at 804-225-2040. You may also contact Dan Timberlake, Assistant Superintendent for Finance, at 804-225-2025.

JLD/MGW/khl

Attachment

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/administrators/superintendents_memos/2005/inf030a.pdf