Dear Community/School Leader,
The New York State Education Department (NYSED) has just posted information about a new funding opportunity for non-public schools that we wanted to share with you immediately.
The 2013-14 Enacted Budget appropriated $4.5 million for safety equipment for non-public schools.
Please note that this opportunity expires on March 31, 2014, so please move forward on the application process as soon as possible. We would be very pleased if every eligible school were able to benefit from this funding.
The following information is from the NYSED:
Eligibility for Program:
(1) Your school must have possessed a BEDS code and filed its BEDS Enrollment Report in the 2012-13 school year.
(2) Your school must have purchased approved safety equipment for your school building between April 1, 2013 and March 31, 2014.
(3) Your school must have a vendor ID from the Office of the State Comptroller. Information about how to obtain one is located here:
http://www.p12.nysed.gov/nonpub/mandatedservices/osc.html
Schools that already receive CAP, MSR or other funding would use their existing vendor number.
Only schools that do not receive these funds would need to apply in order to receive these Safety Equipment Funds.
Reimbursement for Safety Equipment Purchases: NYSED’s Office of Facilities Planning has developed a list of approved safety equipment, available at this link:
http://www.p12.nysed.gov/nonpub/schoolsafety/home.html
Per Pupil Allocation: Reimbursement will be based on a per pupil amount per school ($9.70/child), with pupil counts based on your P-12 enrollment as submitted in that 2012-13 BEDS Enrollment Report. Your pupil count and school allocation are available at the link above.
Reimbursement Process: A streamlined application for reimbursement is under development and will be posted to this same website shortly. Once it is finalized, you will be able to submit the form and itemized receipts for the purchase and installation of the approved items. The NYSED will process your reimbursement as quickly as possible.
Webinar Planned: Staff from the Office of Nonpublic Schools and the Office of Facilities Planning is also developing a webinar that will be presented in the next several weeks. OU Advocacy will keep you apprised about the date, time and registration information for the webinar. We hope that you are able to participate.
Sincerely,
Jeff Leb, NY Director of Political Affairs