Desk Monitoring of Federal Grant Expenditures

Recent TEA communication advised districts information on upcoming desk monitoring reviews of Federal grants. No action is currently required from grantees regarding this formula and discretionary grants desk monitoring process, but administrators are asked to expect and be responsive to communications from these divisions. ARRA funds will not be included in this review. More information can be found at this link.

Excess Cost Calculation

We received this information from TEA in March 2011 regarding the Excess Cost calculation.

The Excess Cost Calculator tool has been revised due to clarification received from the United States Department of Education (USDE) Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP).Please discontinue using the previous versions of the Excess Cost Calculator tool and replace them with the most current version dated March 2011.  Always use previous year expenditures and child counts when calculating excess cost.When calculating excess cost for 2010-2011, do not include ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) expenditures in the calculation.

Further clarification from Yolanda Walker at TEA:

1. Fund 240 should be included in the calculation.
2. Presentation material from February 2011 provided by Ramon Medina and Yolanda Walker from TEA may be found here.

Is Your TRS Reporting Entity Offering a Termination Incentive?

TRS recently sent this communication: With budget shortfalls, many employers may be considering eliminating positions to address the shortfall.  TRS has heard from several employers who are attempting to avoid or reduce the impact of a reduction in force by offering incentives to employees to notify the employer by a specified date of their intent to resign.  TRS has been asked if such monetary incentives are eligible to be reported to TRS.

For TRS purposes salary and wages are monetary compensation that are (1) payments for services rendered and (2) earned or accrue proportionally as the work is performed.  Because payment incentives intended to secure notice of an employee’s resignation are not for service rendered by the employee, the payment is not creditable compensation for TRS purposes and should not be reported to TRS.

Please review Rule 25.21, especially subsections (d)(5) and (d)(13).  Subsection (d)(13) specifically excludes from creditable compensation incentives paid for terminating employment, including amounts paid as retirement incentives.  In addition, employers should consider whether the amount of the incentive paid to secure notice of the employee’s resignation could encourage an employee to retire; if so, the payments are prohibited under Section 22.007, Texas Education Code. 

Whether your reporting entity may offer incentives for employees to provide early notice of resignation is not determined by TRS; however, any such compensation is not creditable compensation for TRS purposes and should not be reported to TRS.

State Mileage Reimbursement Change for 2011

The maximum state mileage reimbursement rate for travel as of Jan. 1, 2011, is 51 cents per mile.

A state agency is not required to reimburse employees at the maximum rate. A state agency may specify a mileage reimbursement rate that is less than 51 cents per mile under TEX. GOV’T CODE ANN. §660.007(b). The agency must notify affected individuals in writing about the lower rate before implementing it. For more information, visit the State Comptroller's website at https://fmx.cpa.state.tx.us/fm/travel/milerate/index.php .

TEA also sent correspondence regarding this at http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/taa/plangraneval013111.html .

Depository Contract Renewal

Time to renew your depository contract. TEA recommends that each district review the documents on this webpage before submitting bids or RFP forms. TEA also sent correspondence on January 26 regarding requirements. This correspondence may be found at http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/taa/finaudit012511.html .

2010 SHARS Cost Report Submission and Mandatory Training Requirement

School districts that received interim federal reimbursements during the 2010 SHARS Cost Reporting period (October 1, 2009 through September 30, 2010) must submit a 2010 SHARS Cost Report on or before April 1, 2011, or the district will be required to return the federal funds received.

Attendance of 2010 SHARS Cost Report Training is mandatory.  Full access to the online 2010 SHARS Cost Report will not be available until 2010 SHARS Cost Report Training has been completed. At a minimum, the SHARS Financial Contact who will prepare the online 2010 SHARS Cost Report must attend the required SHARS Cost Report Training.

Information regarding the SHARS Cost Report and SHARS Cost Report training sessions (and training presentation materials) can be found on the HHSC Rate Analysis Department website located at: http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/Medicaid/programs/rad/acute-care/shars/index.shtml

To register for the SHARS Cost Report Training click on the link below:http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/Medicaid/programs/rad/acute-care/shars/shars-2010-cost-report-webinar.shtml If you have any questions, please contact the SHARS Rate Analyst at HHSC at RA_SHARS@hhsc.state.tx.us or at 512-491-1361.

Note: The SHARS Cost Report training, RMTS training, and MAC training are not the same training.  SHARS Cost Report Training is mandatory for the SHARS Financial Contact who will prepare the 2010 cost report.

PEIMS Edit +

If your computer has been upgraded to a 64-bit, you won’t be able to send files to TEA through EDIT+ until you run the .NET patch.

When you get into EDIT +, on the Home Page, there is a link to download the required software.

Toward the middle of the software page are 3 links for .NET – select only the 2nd option – the .NET Patch. When you click on this it may not look like it ran – but it did.  Then exit out of EDIT + and exit all the way out of Internet Explorer. Open IE back up and go into PEIMS – you should now be able to transfer files to TEA.

Updated Information on Use of IDEA, Part B funds

TEA sent out recent correspondence clarifying the use of IDEA, Part B funds. This correspondence may be found at this link.

IRS deadlines

Find important IRS deadline information and other information at http://www.irs.gov/publications/p15/ar02.html .

Update on Sales Tax Info for School Districts

Updated Sales Tax information was presented at a recent Superintendent's meeting. At this link is a very good handout that explains when and when not to charge sales tax.