Grant Rules

I was recently sitting in a meeting with a district and grant auditors. It was nothing out of the ordinary, just routine monitoring. However, one little comment by the auditors made me realize I had to get some information out to you, the LYS reader and leader.

The auditor said, “Expect a lot more monitoring if you are using stimulus money. And by more, that could very easily mean multiple on-site visits each year, for up to two or three years after the funds have been used.”

Now that thought is enough to petrify anyone who has never dealt with auditors, and reason to pause for those of us who have. But don’t panic. I have some rules to follow that will solve 99% of audit issues and concerns. So without further ado, here are “Sean’s Grant Rules to Live By.” Did you hear the trumpets?

1) On all grant documents and reports, make sure you put numbers and letters in all the places numbers and letters are supposed to be. Blank spaces invite questions.

2) Believe in what you are doing. Hedging your bet or appearing unsure and wishy-washy, is like blood in the water for auditors.

3) Know why you are doing it. Make your case and be confident. And “it sounded like a good idea and other districts are doing it,” is not a case.

4) Build capacity. The grant will go away. Work to make your people more effective and efficient. If you hire people and then let them go, you aren’t better off. If you plan to keep the people after the grant is gone, then you are saying that you could hire them now out of local funds, you just don’t want to.

5) Get results. Real results, that are tied to student performance. Just training people without performance accountability is a waste of time and money.

6) Keep good records. I’ve have friends that have suffered huge career setbacks because a staffer they were responsible for was a shoddy record keeper.

7) Spend the money. In the world of grants, not spending the money is actually worse than not getting the results. Be frugal with the local funds.

Follow these rules and if you do get audited and something is questioned, you will at least be in a defendable position.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Economic Stimulus Money - Uses

The following comes from Dr. Mike Laird (a friend of the site), by way of the U.S. Department of Education:

Stimulus monies are to be used to support the following Key Education Reforms:

• Raising standards through college and career ready standards and high quality assessments that are reliable for all students, including English language learners and students with disabilities;
• Increasing transparency by establishing better data systems tracking student progress over time;
• Improving teacher effectiveness and ensuring equitable supply and distribution of qualified teachers
• Supporting effective intervention strategies for lowest performing schools.

Thanks Dr. Laird.

Your turn...

Dual Credit Courses

I saw a headline that stated that the bad economy should increase the interest in dual credit classes. This is in-line with an on-going discussion that I have been having with E. Don Brown (The R4 Group) and some Texas high school principals. As much as we like AP and IB courses, it is getting harder and harder not to encourage enrollment in dual credit courses. This is especially true if the student plans on attending a state university.

In Texas, where I live, public universities have to accept the credit hours. This means that students are entering college with up to 30 credit hours. In fact, I have a nephew that entered Texas Tech as a sophomore. That’s equates to about a $12,000.00 savings for his parents.

So if you were not a proponent of the program before, this might be the time to re-think your position. Couple the economic situation that families are facing with the stimulus money that will be coming to campuses that can support distance learning and this becomes a chance to offer something life changing to your students.

Your turn…

Thoughts on Economic Stimulus Money

There seems to be no question that there will be stimulus money heading towards schools. Here are some random thoughts to consider:

1. You don’t need more money to get better. Getting better starts with creating an environment conducive to education (clean, orderly and organized) and changing adult practices.

2. Don’t be held hostage by people saying they’ll do more when they are paid more. The people who say that aren’t there for the kids and even though educators aren’t the highest paid employees in the country, their jobs are still safer than most right now. Be grateful and get to work.


3. If and when the money shows up on your campus, don’t just automatically use it to hire more staff. Consider tools and training. Better teachers generally make a bigger impact on students than more teachers.

4. Fund the things that show promise, quit funding the things that don’t. For example, if you still offer a “typing” class, this is the time to cut it and move on.


5. Strive to make your campus self-reliant. When I was a principal, we took over our own landscaping and minor maintenance and repairs. We also did a lot of in-house training and book studies. We could do it all cheaper and faster. This meant that we did more than everyone else - for the same money. Being effective and efficient means having more control over your destiny.

6. The stimulus money may be a once in a career opportunity to do something spectacular to change the face of education. Don’t squander the chance.

Your turn…