Rule 691-3-.05 - Emergency School Operations Fund Grant1. Purpose. The SCSC may provide grants to state charter schools from the Emergency School Operations Fund to assist schools in resolving exceptional and unforeseen budget shortfalls arising from matters external or dynamic events outside the school's control. Matters outside of the school's control that may lead to use of the Emergency School Operations Fund include, but are not limited to, natural disasters, acts of terror or war, or other acts or interference by third parties in the school's operation. The Emergency School Operations Fund is not to be used to assist schools experiencing budget shortfalls that result from a failure to account for routine school operations, accounting mistakes, general errors in judgment, or a lack of understanding regarding the state charter school funding formula.2. Terms and Conditions. Grant awards from the Emergency School Operations Fund shall only be expended to offset exceptional and unforeseen budget shortfalls arising from matters outside of the school's control. The state charter school shall ensure that all expenditures of grant awards adhere to the Budget Narrative submitted with its application and the changes, if any, required by the SCSC as a condition of grant approval. If an awardee must deviate from the Budget Narrative submitted and approved by the SCSC by 10% or more in one or more object-level expenditures, the awardee must obtain prior written approval from the SCSC Executive Director. All grant awards shall be expended in accordance with legal and regulatory requirements and restrictions regarding state funding, including, but not limited to, being expended only for the educational purposes of the state charter school in accordance with O.C.G.A. § 20-2-411.3. Eligible Recipients. All state charter schools that are currently operating are eligible to apply.4. Criteria for Award. Grant applications will be reviewed by at least two separate readers who rate the application in accordance with the rubric in Attachment A. An applicant will be evaluated based on the need established in the application narratives; the effort demonstrated by the school to reduce its budget deficit by other means; the degree to which the budget shortfall was caused by actions outside of the school's control; the school's history of academic, operational, and financial performance; and adherence to the technical requirements of the application. Applicants must receive an average score of 80 out of 100 to receive funding from the Emergency School Operations Fund.5. Directions and Deadlines for Applying. Requests for information and applications should be directed to the Business and Operations Manager, State Charter Schools Commission of Georgia, 1470B Twin Towers East, 205 Jesse Hill Jr. Drive, Atlanta, Georgia, 30334. Specific deadlines will be included in the associated application package.Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 691-3-.05
O.C.G.A. §§ 20-2-2082; 2091.
Original grant description entitled "Emergency School Operations Fund Grant" submitted January 29, 2015.