You do not have to include administrative costs.  However, if you do, you do need to do time certification.

If a purchase total cost was above $5,000, it would need to budgeted and paid as a capital expenditure even if the amount paid from Perkins funds was under $5,000.  The district’s inventory records should also note the split coding.

In a Consortium, there would be concerns that it would be indeterminate who would be responsible for depreciation, resale, inventory, etc.

Equipment purchased by a consortium remains the property of the consortium.

Institutions can only claim up to 5% for direct or indirect costs under the 300 object code and if the amount is budgeted. Direct costs can be identified specifically with particular cost objectives such as  grant, contract, project, function or activity.

• Salaries and wages
• Other employee fringe benefits allocated to direct labor employees.
• Consultant services contracted to accomplish specific grant objectives.
• Travel of employees.
• Materials, supplies and equipment purchased directly for use on a specific grant or contract.
• Communication costs identifiable with a specific award or activity.

Yes.  Administrative costs must be associated with the direct administration of the local application. Costs are limited to no more than 5% of total allocation. Approved indirect costs are considered administrative costs and must be included in the 5% limitation. Documentation of actual expenses must be maintained to claim the 5% administrative cost. Budget and reporting of the direct administrative expenditures should appear in the appropriate object code. Expenses associated with conducting an advisory committee meeting may be considered a direct or indirect administrative cost. This may include lunch associated with the meeting.

Allowable obligations prior to June 30^th are allowable for claims for that grant year although the payment isn’t processed until July 1 or shortly thereafter.

Even though a Grant Award is dated July 1, grant applicants cannot legally expend funds until the grants are approved. Competitive Grants over $25,000 are approved at the Nebraska State Board meetings and go into effect on that date. Funds expended before the grant was approved would trigger an audit issue.

Federal Guidelines 76.707 states that personal services by an employee of the State or a sub-grantee are obligated when the services are performed. So the contracted services payment could only be for the days prior to the end of the fiscal year out of the current fiscal year’s grant.

Yes, however the item should be received and the payment should be made in a very timely manner so that the grant does not need to be left open for an extended period of time.

Costs associated with participation in both in-state and out-of-state conferences are approvable as requested in the Local Perkins Application. Personnel travel is limited to mileage, airfare, meals and lodging. Travel must be justified in terms of value.

Cost of training provided for teacher development is allowable. This may include cost of meals subject to the federal guidelines. No entertainment expenses such as alcohol, movies, etc., may be reimbursed.

Yes, as long as positive time certification records are kept and the amount is under the 5% cap.

Yes, if these positions are only providing direct services to CTE Students who are considered members of a special population and who are enrolled in CTE courses during the semester for which they receive services (they would have been reported in the year-end reporting as either a CTE participant or concentrator)? Documentation would need to be submitted to show how these activities lead students to earning a credential/certificate/degree in an H3 occupational area. Also, remember that Perkins funds can only be used for salaries to support staff for up to 3 years.

This position would be reviewed within each application over the 3 years, so yes, even though the salary would only be for 4 months of the grant, it would still count as year 1.

No, this would not be allowable. Zoology is not part of an approved program of study.

No, however the academic instructor may participate in professional development if it is also offered to CTE instructors.

Yes, however, just like any other expenditure the fee must align with the overarching CTE plan for the consortium and is considered an allowable expense. A vendor must provide a description of exactly what the fees are for, detailed information on any personnel services charged to the grant and the item’s purpose.

No. This is considered a direct benefit to students; nor is it a curriculum that can be reused. Perkins funds are not to be used to pay for any testing, licensure, or certification of students.

No. This would be considered a grant-back program since allocations are based on student population and poverty within the allocations formula. Neither does the money belong to individual schools, but to the consortium. Dividing the money between the schools would also be an audit exception.

The Perkins grant is designed to not directly benefit students, making the number of students in a district a non-factor.

Perkins is about the programs offered, not the number of students taking the programs. Not following the Legislative Guidelines could remove a consortium’s eligibility from the grant.

If you reallocate funds because of a cancelled event and it adds to less than 25% of the available funds AND it is used within the same category, you will not need an amendment. Funds moved to a different category WILL need an amendment.

Be sure to keep your NDE monitor informed of the new purchase/activity so a cross-reference can be made on the Final Claim for Reimbursement. The best record is to add in a detailed description of the changes within the GMS system’s Amendment Description tab.

Adjustments to original purchase requests are allowable as long as they are approvable under Perkins law and meet your justification requirements. If the items fall into the same budget category (supplies, for instance), you would not need to do anything in GMS.

If the purchases will fall into a different category than originally purchased, and you need to move remaining funds from one category to the other to have enough to cover the costs, you’ll need to submit an amendment in GMS with the explanation.

Finally, the purchase should be fine using current grant funds as long as they are obligated by June 30.

Example: Current Budget 600 Category $43,391.00 25% of $43,391.00 equals $10,847.75 This is larger than $2500 so you work with the 25% amount option. No amendment is necessary if you use a budgeted amount up to $52,238.75.

No. Not when the budget amount and the category remain the same.

It is permissible to make budget changes if the changes meet the program’s plan. The warning of “no flexibility” is to inform you that you cannot post any expenditures in an object code with $0.00 budgeted. With an Amendment, funds can be moved into a new category that previously had none.