THE OCEAN GATE BOARD OF EDUCATION                         FILE CODE: 3220/3230

Ocean Gate, New Jersey                                                                             Monitored

  X    Mandated

Policy                                                                                                 X     Other Reasons

STATE FUNDS; FEDERAL FUNDS

Each year, when it is believed that the school district is eligible for federal and/or state assistance under the provisions of public laws, application for said assistance may be submitted so long as acceptance of the funds does not include conditions contrary to the policies of the board of education. The chief school administrator shall inform the board about specific assurances which may be required in addition to those addressed in this policy, and will provide the required language for board adoption.

When the law requires the development and implementation of administrative procedures for submitting state and federal financial reports, with specified time schedules, the chief school administrator and board secretary shall ensure that the staff has properly completed the reports and that in each instance the reports have been submitted within the specified time. In particular, the chief school administrator is responsible for assuring that the district is in compliance with Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) and all persons responsible for following those administrative regulations shall be held accountable.

The regular operating budget must include amounts anticipated to be received from state and/or federal sources, and a listing of projects describing how this money will be spent. These recommendations for expenditures will be approved by the board before projects are submitted.

If additional amounts become available during the year, additional projects will be recommended to the board and, with its approval, added to the budget.

Maintenance of Effort

The board of education will maintain a combined fiscal effort per pupil or aggregate expenditures of state and local funds with respect to the provision of the public education for the preceding fiscal year that is not less than the required amount of the combined fiscal effort per pupil or the aggregate expenditures for the second preceding fiscal year.

Equivalence

To be in compliance with the requirements of federal law, the board of education directs the chief school administrator to assign staff and distribute curriculum materials and instructional supplies in such a way that equivalence of personnel and materials is ensured in school.

Supplement not Supplant

Federal funds shall be used for supplementary services only and shall not be used to replace services that the district would supply eligible pupils, if state and federal funds were not available.

Parent/Guardian Participation

The district shall implement parent/guardian consultation and participation, advisory councils, etc., as mandated for the specific program.

Control of Equipment

Title to and control over equipment and/or property purchased with federal funds shall be maintained in accordance with the pertinent federal regulations. The chief school administrator shall develop written procedures outlining federal ownership and district use, loan, loss and disposal of such equipment/property.

Special Education Medicaid Initiative (SEMI) Program

The chief school administrator or designee shall ensure that the district follows all required procedures to maximize its revenue from reimbursements under the Special Education Medicaid Initiative (SEMI) Program. This program allows the district to recover a portion of the cost of certain health-related services considered medically necessary in a student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP), including evaluation services, physical, occupational and speech therapy, and specialized transportation services.

Procedures to be followed are included in the SEMI Provider Handbook, found at http://www.state.nj.us/treasury/administration/semi-mac/semi-mac.htm. These procedures include maximizing the return rate of parental consent forms for all SEMI eligible students.

In accord with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the district shall obtain the parent/ guardian’s informed written consent prior to any disclosures of personally identifiable information from education records, including health information, to the Medicaid program for Medicaid claim submission.

All supporting documentation for Medicaid claims shall be maintained on file and available for state or federal audit for at least seven years from the date of service. Records shall fully document the basis upon which claims for reimbursement are made.

Reimbursement Requests

When the district is a subgrantee of grants awarded by the Federal government to the State of New Jersey, the district shall submit reimbursement requests using the Electronic Web-Enabled Grant (EWEG) System. Expenditures must be supported by documentation at the subgrantee level. Documentation for salary expenditures will be according to the applicable federal circular. Expenditures must be for allowable costs. Expenditures must be related to the subgrantee’s cost objectives. Expenditures will be reviewed to determine that:

A. Adequate description of expenditures is provided;

B. No new budget category is created; and

C. Reimbursement does not exceed the allowable threshold for an amendment as a result of cumulative transfers among expenditure categories.

Reimbursement requests will be certified by the board as being in accordance with approved grant applications. EWEG reimbursement requests will meet NJDOE timelines and deadlines. The district shall assume all responsibility for assuring that all funds requested through the EWEG system either have already been expended, or will be expended according the requirements of the Cash Management Improvement Act of 1990 (CMIA) and other applicable federal regulations.

Financial Fraud and Theft Prevention

All employees, board members, consultants, vendors, contractors and other parties maintaining a business relationship with the district shall act with integrity and due diligence in matters involving state grants, federal grants, and other fiscal resources.

The chief school administrator shall be responsible for developing internal controls designed to prevent and detect fraud, financial impropriety or fiscal irregularities within the district. Every member of the district’s administrative team shall be alert for any indication of fraud, financial impropriety or irregularity within his/herareas of responsibility.

As used in this policy, “fraud” refers to intentionally misrepresenting, concealing or misusing information in an attempt to commit fiscal wrongdoing. Fraudulent actions include, but are not limited to:

A. Behaving in a dishonest or false manner in relation to district assets, including theft of funds, securities, supplies or other properties;

B. Forging or altering financial documents or accounts illegally or without proper authorization;

C. Improper handling or reporting of financial transactions;

D.Personally profiting as a result of insider knowledge;

E. Disregarding confidentiality safeguards concerning financial information;

F. Violating board conflict of interest policies;

G. Mishandling financial records of district assets (destroying, removing or misusing).

The chief school administrator shall investigate reports of fraudulent activity in a manner that protects the confidentiality of the parties and the facts. All employees involved in the investigation shall be advised to keep information about the investigation confidential.

In the event the concern or complaint involves the chief school administrator, the concern shall be brought to the attention of the board president who is hereby empowered to contact the board’s legal counsel, auditing firm and any other agency to investigate the concern or complaint.

Adopted: 2/7/2023 NJSBA Review/Update: Readopted:

Key Words

State Funds, Federal Funds, Disposal of Equipment, State/Federal Funds

Legal References:N.J.S.A. 18A:7F-43 et seq.

N.J.S.A. 18A:7G-1

School Funding Reform Act of 2008through –44 et al.Educational Facilities Construction and FinancingActN.J.S.A. 18A:11-1General mandatory powers and dutiesN.J.S.A. 18A:34-1Textbooks; selection; furnished free with supplies;appropriationsN.J.S.A. 18A:38-7.7Legislative findings and declarations (regardingthrough -7.14impact aid)N.J.S.A. 18A:54-20Powers of board (county vocational schools)N.J.S.A. 18A:58-7.1School lunch programN.J.S.A. 18A:58-7.2School lunch program; additional state aidN.J.S.A. 18A:58-11Emergency aidN.J.S.A. 18A:58-11.1Loss of tuition to district due to establishment ofregional district; state aid for one yearN.J.S.A. 18A:58-33.6through -33.21Additional State School Building Aid Act of 1970

N.J.S.A. 18A:58-37.1 through -37.7                               Textbook Aid to Public and Nonpublic Schools

N.J.S.A. 18A:59-1                                                          Federal aid through -3

N.J.A.C. 6A:14-1.1 et seq.                                             Special Education

N.J.A.C. 6A:23A-5.3                                                      Failure to maximize SEMI

N.J.A.C. 6A:23A-8.1                                                      Budget submission, support documentation, website publication

N.J.A.C. 6A:23A-19.1                                                    Emergency aid

N.J.A.C. 6A:26-1.1et seq.                                             Educational Facilities

N.J.A.C. 6A:27-8.1et seq.                                             State Transportation Aid

N.J.A.C. 6A:30-1.1 et seq.                                             Evaluation of the Performance of School Districts Abbott v. Burke, 149 N.J. 145 (1997)

Hawkins-Stafford Elementary and Secondary School Improvement Amendments of 1988 (Pub. L. 100-97)

20 U.S.C.A. 1401 et seq. – Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 29 U.S.C.A. 794 et seq. – Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988

34 CFR Part 85, Governmentwide Debarment and Suspension (nonprocurement) and Government wide Requirements for Drug-Free Workplace (Grants)

Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, Pub. L. 114-95, 20 U.S.C.A. 6301 et seq.

2 CFR 200 uniform requirements for federal awards

Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR)

Possible

Cross References: *3100                     Budget planning, preparation and adoption

*3160                    Transfer of funds between line items/amendments/purchases not budgeted

3500.1                  Energy

*3541.1                  Transportation routes and services

*3542.31                Free or reduced-price lunches/milk

*3570                    District records and reports

*4119.23/4219.23 Employee substance abuse

*6142.2                  English as a second language; bilingual/bicultural

*6142.6                  Basic skills

*6142.12                Career and technical education

*6171.3                  At-risk and Title 1

*6171.4                  Special education

*9326                    Minutes

*Indicates policy is included in the Critical Policy Reference Manual.