COMMONWEALTH of VIRGINIA
Department of Education

October 24, 2014

TO:  Division Superintendents

FROM:  Steven R. Staples, Superintendent of Public Instruction

SUBJECT:  2014-2015 School Security Equipment Grant Program – Revisions to Approved Applications and Reimbursement Process

On September 25, 2014, Governor McAuliffe awarded $6.0 million in 2014-2015 School Security Equipment Grants for schools in 100 school divisions and for six regional educational programs.  Below is information on the reimbursement process and revising approved applications.

Reimbursement Process

A 2014-2015 Request for Reimbursement form must be completed and submitted to the Department of Education (DOE) with documentation showing the school name, purchases made, and total cost of the qualifying equipment purchased for which reimbursement is being requested. The Request for Reimbursement form should be mailed to Department of Education, Office of Support Services, P. O. Box 2120, Richmond, Virginia  23218-2120.   The 2014-2015 Request for Reimbursement form can be found at the following Web site:  http://www.doe.virginia.gov/support/facility_construction/security_equipment_grants/index.shtml.

Once the reimbursement request is approved, written certification will be sent to Virginia State Non-Arbitrage Program (SNAP) to make the reimbursement payment.  SNAP will make the payment to the school division or regional program within 30 days of receipt of the certification.

School divisions must complete the VPSA Withdrawal Instruction form and fax it to 1-800-252-9551 before SNAP can release any 2014-2015 funds.  This form can be found at:  http://www.doe.virginia.gov/support/facility_construction/security_equipment_grants/electronic_funds_transfer_form.pdf.

Revisions (Addendums) to Approved Applications

It may be necessary to revise the original grant application(s) approved for funding.  A reason to revise an application may be to add additional eligible equipment to expend a remaining balance in the grant when the original equipment requested cost less than anticipated.

Revisions to the approved applications may be made through the Single Sign-on for Web System (SSWS) portal for the 2014-2015 grant.  In order to make changes to an application, an SSWS account is required.  If the individual making the change to the application does not have an SSWS account, they will need to request access through their local SSWS account manager.  They will need to receive “Data Entry” access in the Security Equipment Grant Management (SEGM) application.

Once an individual has access to SEGM, they will need to follow these steps:

1. Notify the DOE Support Services Office at 804-225-2035 or 804-225-2037 to discuss the changes to be made to the application.  If the change is approved, the division’s grant application will be opened for revision.
2. Log into SSWS.
3. Select the application “Security Equipment Grant Management (SEGM).”
4. On the right-hand side select “Maintain Addendum.”
5. Select the school application you wish to update.
6. At the bottom of the screen, there is a comment box where you will type the information to revise your application. (This will not change the amount of your grant.)
7. Click “Save.”  Clicking “Save” will automatically return you to the division level view so another school can be selected, if desired.
8. Once all school application changes have been entered into SEGM, click the “Submit to Superintendent” button.  This will lock the application from further changes.
9. The division superintendent will be sent an e-mail for their online approval of the addendum.  The superintendent must log into SEGM to approve this request.
10.  If the division superintendent does not approve the request, the individual submitting the request will receive an e-mail indicating the disapproval along with any comments from the superintendent.  The application will again be opened for data entry.  The same process above must be followed to make corrections and click “Submit to Superintendent.”
11. This process will continue until the division superintendent approves and clicks the “Submit to DOE” button.

Questions concerning the reimbursement process or revising applications may be directed to the Office of Support Services at (804) 225-2035 or (804) 225-2037.  You may also e-mail the following staff if you have questions:  June.Eanes@doe.virginia.gov, Hunter.Barnes@doe.virginia.gov, or Vijay.Ramnarain@doe.virginia.gov.

SRS/aam