Superintendent's Memo #119-09
COMMONWEALTH of VIRGINIA
Department of Education
May 1, 2009
TO: Division Superintendents
FROM: Patricia I. Wright, Superintendent of Public Instruction
SUBJECT: Change in Deposit Cycle for Federal Grant Funds
The Department of Education (the department) will be implementing a weekly deposit schedule for school division federal funds. This change will improve school division cash flow by reducing the time between the full approval of a federal reimbursement request by the department and the deposit of the federal funds to school division accounts. Currently, federal grant reimbursement requests are paid to divisions on a semi-monthly deposit schedule (i.e., the 16th and last day of each month).
Summary of key issues and dates relating to this change are:
- The department expects to implement the new deposit schedule by Friday, May 22, 2009.
- The department has the necessary state-level approvals for this transition.
- Federal reimbursement requests will be deposited on Fridays, or the last state business day of the week, whichever is first.
- Federal reimbursements deposited will be those that are fully approved by Wednesday of the prior week (e.g., a reimbursement request that is fully approved on Wednesday May 13, 2009, would be deposited on Friday May 22, 2009).
- To meet state fiscal year-end needs, all reimbursement requests that are fully approved by the department five business days before June 30 will be deposited on June 30.
- This change in the deposit cycle applies to all federal grants, including federal grant funds provided under the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
- The change does not impact the deposit of state funds. Deposits of state funds will continue to follow the 16th and last day of the month deposit schedule.
Additionally, the department suggests, but does not require, school divisions that are low on cash consider the following federal grant reimbursement procedural changes (providing the grant award does not stipulate differently):
- Submit reimbursement requests more frequently – monthly, bi-weekly, or weekly.
- Create separate reimbursement requests of expenditures for non-personnel and personnel (payroll).
- Include as much information as possible in the descriptions of non-personnel expenditures, so that fewer follow-up questions are required.
Your finance director is also being advised of this change in federal grant reimbursements. If you have any questions, please contact Karen H. Lux in the Accounting Office at (804) 371-6877 or Karen.Lux@doe.virginia.gov.
PIW / KHL / dha