Budget Management - Even Start
Business Meeting
San Antonio, Texas
October 2006
by Federico Salas-Isnardi & Beth Thompson
The presentation is only intended to offer technical support not financial
advice.
NOTE: This section of the business meeting was tailored
to meet your requests that were submitted on Survey Monkey. Thanks
for your help.
For Reference
TEA Schedule Guidelines: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/opge/disc/cont.html
Federal OMB Cost
Principles Guidelines: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/
Refer specifically to:
OMB Circular A-87 – For Local Governments, including LEA’s, ESC’s,
etc.
OMB Circular A-122 – For Community Based Organizations
OMB Circular A-21 – For Educational Institutions, Colleges
and Universities
You Requested
- Cost Share
- Forecasting staff expenditures
- Comparing actual expenditures against budget
Allowable Cost Share
Any item that is allowable with federal dollars. These items are directly
associated with carrying out daily activities of the grant program.
- Program coordinator
- Instructional personnel (teachers, instructional aides, parent educators,
and so on)
- Data-entry clerks for statewide management systems
- Professional development for teachers
- Supplies and materials
- Equipment
- Other operating costs expended in carrying out daily program activities
- Educational field trips
Examples of Allowable Cost Share Items
NOTE: Even Start PK students have a “categorical
eligibility” for free/reduced lunch. That means programs
can report as cost share but cannot spend program dollars on meals.
- Teacher Wages
- Test Materials
- Professional Development
- Free/Reduced lunch for infants/toddlers and parents
- Building Use (approved formula)
- Lending library materials
- Volunteers, if time is documented
Non-allowable Cost Share Items
- Construction costs
- Any expenditure not allowable with federal funds
- Services to non-Even Start participants
- Services provided through PK-12
for PK-12 students
Allowable Cost Share Costs
To be allowed to be charged to a grant, costs must meet the
following criteria:
- be reasonable for the performance of the grant,
be allocable, and conform to limitations or exclusions
under the applicable cost principles or the grant agreement as to types
or amount of costs
- be consistent with policies and procedures that apply uniformly
to federally funded activities and activities funded from other sources
- be accorded consistent treatment among all grant programs, regardless
of funding source
- be determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles
(GAAP)
- for discretionary grants, not be used for lease-purchases (i.e.,
debt service)
Reasonable and Necessary Costs
Costs must be reasonable and necessary for
the operation of the program.
- Reasonable costs are consistent with prudent business
practice and comparable to current market value.
- Necessary costs are essential to accomplish the
objectives of the project. All items requested must be allowable expenditures
under the authorizing program statutes, regulations, and rules.
Allocable Cost Share Costs
Allocable Costs
A cost is allocable to a particular grant
in accordance with the relative benefits received if it is treated consistently
with other costs incurred for the same purposes in like circumstances
and if it meets the following:
- is incurred specifically for the grant
- benefits both the grant and other work and can be distributed in
reasonable proportion to the benefits received
Any cost allocable to a particular grant or other cost objective may
not be shifted to other federal awards to overcome funding deficiencies
or to avoid restrictions imposed by law or by the terms of the grant
award.
Examples of Non-Allowable Cost Share Items
NOTE: The exception is the rare case where a PK or
K class is created specifically for Even Start students and no other
students are enrolled in the class. The case must be made that
the class would not exist without Even Start.
- Superintendent time
- *PK-12 teachers provided by the ISD
- Test materials used by diagnosticians for students PK-12
- Free/Reduced lunch for students PK-12
- Contributions to retirement accounts other than TRS
You Decide: Is this an allowable cost share item?
- An adult education teacher with less than a four-year degree
- ISD has an after school homework help program, Even Start students
attend. The 2 program coordinators work together.
- A trip to the Children’s Museum
- An awards banquet
Documenting Cost Share
- Same burden for documentation as federal funds
- There must be a paper trail for every dollar listed as cost share
- Consult your approved budget to learn what to document
- Set up a folder for each source of cost share
Personnel
- Personnel provided by a partner
- Personnel provided by grantee organization
NOTE: Personnel - easiest to document.
Personnel provided by a partner.
- MOU should spell out exactly what is to be provided. Ex., “adult
education instructors for 2 classes, testing materials, classroom materials
text books, costs of employment for the teachers, entry and maintenance
of student data in TEAMS.”
- Request a letter from partner (on letterhead) at least mid-year and
at the end of the year that lists the dollar amounts actually spent
for Even Start. Place letter in file. Use sign-in sheets
to verify for auditors.
- Ex. 2 Adult ed. Teachers, total of 300 hours of instruction
= $6600.00.
Test materials = $300
Classroom materials and supplies = $200.00
Cost of employment for Jane Doe and John Doe, $660.
Entry and Maintenance of student data in TEAMS = $1000.
Total services provided to Even Start for 6 months = $8760
Personnel provided by grantee organization:
Time and effort records
Payroll detail reports showing wages/salaries paid. Records must
also show that the source of the payroll was not Even Start.
Volunteers
- Have volunteers sign in and sign out (log)
- Have volunteers sign the volunteer log
- Log should identify the service provided and the qualifications
of the volunteer
- Programs can value volunteer service at the rate it would cost them
to purchase the service
NOTE:
- High School students = Minimum wage
- Teacher/aide rate = that currently paid by your school district
- Value special services accordingly
Building or Space Lease
NOTE: The value of the building is the original cost
of the building plus improvements. There is no current market value
for owned buildings.
Owned Buildings or Equipment
- When equipment or building space is owned by the applicant organization,
the following items may be counted toward cost share or charged to
the grant:
- The entire cost of equipment leased or purchased during the
grant period
- Equipment usage fee for items purchased prior to the grant period—not
to exceed 6 2/3% annually of its original acquisition cost
- Building usage fee—not to exceed 2% annually of its original
acquisition cost (plus improvements) for the square footage used
Rented Buildings or Equipment
- When equipment or building space is not owned by an Even Start partner
organization (usage donated by 3rd party), the following items may
be counted toward cost share or charged to the grant:
- Current fair market rental rate of equipment
- Current fair market rental rate of building space for the square
footage used
Free/Reduced Lunch
- Roster of amounts paid with dates and student names
- Roster provided by the food service department
- Roster cannot be a manual estimate by the Even Start program
Donated Items
- Save the packing list
- Letter of thanks to provider specifying the items donated and their
value
Utility Amounts
NOTE: Utility bills for 05-06 were $10,000.
The
approved grant application says that the program uses the facility 15%
of the time.
$10,000 X .15 = $1500.00
- Actual utility bills
- Document applying the agreed upon percentage of cost to Even Start
Full Time Employees
- Coordinator 40,000
- Parent Educator 35,000
- Early Childhood Teacher 33,000
Costs of Employment
NOTE: These costs are strictly for illustration purposes. Check
with your organization for your actual costs. The list of items
may differ.
- Health Insurance
- TRS
- Medicare
- Unemployment
- Workers Compensation Insurance
- Sick Leave
- Consult your organization
Part Time Employees
- Adult Education Teacher $22/hour
- PK Teacher $22/hour
Costs of Employment
NOTE: Again, this is only an illustration. Consult with your business
office for actual costs for your organization.
- Medicare
- Unemployment Insurance
- Workers Compensation
- Consult your organization
Calculations for Part Time Wages
- Have concrete knowledge of your program calendar
- Identify the number of hours/days/weeks the employee will work.
- Remember to include professional development and staff meetings
- Breaking out the anticipated costs by semester will help you decide
if you are in track throughout the year.
Comparing Actual to Budget
- Set aside time quarterly to compare expenses to budget
- If expenses match the forecast, then no action is needed
- If there are changes, adjust accordingly
