Questions and Answers from Community Schools Webinar July 21, 2017 1. Do you have a sample of the general ledger and attendance report you can show us? A. Please refer to the FY’18 Invoice General Ledger on our Finance & Operations website. As a slight modification to what was communicated in the webinar, attendance reports will not be required when submitting an invoice, however, attendance sheets are expected to be retained on file. 2. Are modifications allowed outside of the modification windows? A. No, modifications are not allowed outside of the modification windows. 3. How do I submit the general ledger and attendance report? A. You will submit the general ledger with your invoice in HHS Accelerator. All invoices must have an uploaded general ledger. As a slight modification to what was communicated in the webinar, attendance reports will not be required when submitting an invoice, however, attendance sheets are expected to be retained on file. 4. Are budget mods also submitted through HHS accelerator? A. Yes. The guidance on how to submit a budget modification is in the HHS Accelerator Provider Guide to Managing Budgets (Page 45). 5. Would events - student share outs, etc. - be an example of when we could purchase food? A. The US Department of Education and the New York State Education Department require a high burden of proof to show that paying for food and beverages with Federal funds is necessary to meet the goals and objectives of a Federal grant (see the following: USDOE and NYSED’s 21st Century Grant RFP Q&A (Question 12)). That being said, the NYC Department of Education recognizes that having modest food options at certain family / community engagement events are critical to meeting your program’s objectives. Therefore, up to $5,000 will be allowed for food expenditures in the budget (for each school). We will expect the CBOs to be able to justify any costs as reasonable and necessary. 6. The Lead CBO uses HHS Accelerator. What do the other CBO partners use? 7. Lead CBO contracts are administered in HHS Accelerator and budgets and expense reports will all be processed in HHS Accelerator. Partner CBOs and organizations that provide supplemental or complimentary services will submit work orders to OCS Program Managers for review, and will be issued purchase orders through the DOE’s FAMIS. 8. Is there a written food policy we could reference to see instances of the special cases? A. See Answer to Question 5.

9. Are refreshments at parent meetings and workshops an allowable expense as an exception to the general prohibition on paying for food? A. See Answer to Question 5. 10. The contract that is listed the HHS reflects the full contract not just our budget as lead - this is correct right? A. No, the contract listed in HHS Accelerator reflects the annual contract allocation for Lead CBO. In addition to the lead CBO allocation, the grant includes per-session funding for the school to hire teachers or other staff to work in the program and partner CBOs that provide supplemental or complimentary services. The funds for the partner CBOs are managed and paid centrally by the Office of Community Schools (OCS). 11. As a school, how do you get in contact with your lead CBO since we do not have access to HHS Accelerator? A. School leaders should work with the lead CBO to plan and review the budget. OCS encourages CBOs to provide regular budget and spending updates to the principal throughout the year. For more information see Section One, Collaborative Planning (page 4), in OCS’s Fiscal & Operations Manual. If a school has challenges connecting with their Lead CBO, schools are encouraged to reach out to their OCS Program Manager for support 12. We are not allowed to subcontractor for certain activities? A. Subcontracting is allowed in unique cases where the CBO is not positioned to provide activities/services that the school community feels are essential. In those cases, the CBO should list the name of a potential subcontractor on the budget and their program manager will provide guidance upon reviewing the budget. 13. We are not allowed to allot for incentives? A. Correct, incentives are not allowable. 14. Are t-shirts allowed for safety during field trips? or is this considered entertainment A: Yes, t-shirts are allowed for safety during field trips.