The PACSP Team is compiling a listing of all questions that we receive in relation to the application and providing the answers here so that all applicants can benefit from these answers. Please contact pacspgrant@pacharters.org with program and RFA questions, and pacspfinance@pacharters.org with fiscal and budget questions. After we answer your question, we will post it here anonymously.
This page last updated: February 25, 2022
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, for applicants with high school student populations.
Three years.
Suggested evidence may include:
- TR16: Audited Financial Statements (for most recently audited fiscal year as well as up to 3 prior years)
- TR17: DSCR (Debt Service Coverage Ratio) calculation at end of prior fiscal year (06/30/2021) if applicable (some schools do not have long-term debt)
- TR18: Evidence to show applicant is meeting their PSERS (or other required retirement) payments. So, can provide prior year-end Employer Statement for PSERS Account showing evidence of timely payments
- TR19: Audited Financial Statements (for most recently audited fiscal year as well as up to 3 prior years)
- TR20: Audited Financial Statements, Copies of any Existing Agreements Between Related Parties (Lease/Rent Agreement, MOU, Consolidated Financial Statement – Audited), Accounting Software Reports, Invoices showing specific payments
- TR21: Workers Comp (WC) Audit and/or a copy of the Quarterly Federal Tax Returns (Form 941)
This was meant more for new schools. We don’t expect that from existing schools.
The type of evidence provided will depend on the applicant and proposed project. For some cases, it may not be applicable, so a description of plans and not applicable requirement is fine. If a school is looking to lease or purchase to support their proposed project please include enough evidence to provide the Peer Review Team with a clear picture of the schools’ plans.
For attachment 13, any kind of documentation to show the other grant funding sources you currently receive (federal, state, foundation, etc.) would be great. This will give us and the PRT a picture of the grant funding sources besides district tuition revenues.
Yes, that is correct.
Yes, all of these sound great! This is intended as back up for the project specific narratives. The project specific narrative asks for ‘ A description of how the eligible applicant will support the use of effective parent, family, and community engagement strategies to operate each charter school that will receive funding under the SE’s program. Artifacts could be information about your Parent/Teacher organization, info from your website, the opt-eds you had your parents do, anything like that.
A disaggregated breakdown of student performance by race, gender, and special populations at the school.
We are looking for monthly financials that are provided to the Board. Understanding that 3 years worth of monthly financials can be difficult to compile, the end of year internal financials will suffice (ex. June) for each of the last three years.
It would probably work best as one document. If you are unable to upload that way, let us know and we can instruct you on uploading separately. We would prefer one document to make it easier on our peer reviewers.
Yes, we do expect that there will be estimated cost. If awarded, we will sit down again and go over the budget more carefully and review.
Please submit your currently existing staff as well as staff to support your proposed expansion.
Please refer to Project Specific Narrative Rubric, PS3 for more details on who should be included on the organizational chart.
We used the PDE chart of accounts for developing the GL code structure however did not use all available function and object codes. We recommend to find a GL code based on our “Definitions” tab that is a best fit for what you are looking to enter into the “Detailed Budget Worksheet” tab. An applicant is unable to create a new GL code to be entered into the “Detailed Budget Worksheet” tab. You can add a row utilizing the insert button function, however you will be required to select from one of our prepopulated GL codes. Please feel free to reach out to pacspgrant@pacharters.org or pacspfinance@pacharters.org if you have further questions.
Note: This question refers to Attachment 13, seen on page 46 of 2021 Master RFA.
We are looking for listings/additional evidence that shows the grant funding sources you currently receive (federal, state, foundation, etc.). This will give us a picture of the applicant’s grant funding sources besides district tuition revenues.
Yes, please feel free to add additional documentation. If you have any troubles uploading please email admin@fedreporting.com.
The applications are being reviewed by the independent peer review team. You can see all of the rubrics that we will provide the Peer Review Team, and there is no direction to score applications according to need. With that being said, the reviewers will see your budget and the PACSP team cannot speak to how they will evaluate this issue. We’ve done all we can to remove any potential conflict of interest, and to make sure the applications are scored by at least 5 evaluators.
Per page 26 of our allowable cost guide: activities for which an architect and/or engineer must be utilized are not allowable.
We have heard of a few creative, yet allowable uses of funding for construction. One of which is click and lock flooring, completely movable if you ever decide to move. Another examples is to bolt playground equipment to the ground instead of cementing, again completely movable if necessary.
As long as you have discussed it and agreed to move forward, we will just need the signature of the board president. We do not need further documentation of a vote.
More information regarding qualified opportunity zones and a map tool can be found at U.S. Dept of Treasury Opportunity Zones Resources.
Please upload separately and see the grant documents folder in FedReporting.com for naming. Below is a snapshot of the first couple items in the grant documents folder. They are labeled in same fashion as the RFA, so attach them by clicking on the edit document icon on the far right.
Yes, however there are conditions involved. Please refer to PACSP’s Allowable Cost Guide, pages 15-17 and 24.
Applicants can provide responses within both the Project Specific Narrative and Competitive Preference Priority Plan.
No, please do not submit a request unless you are eligible and applying for year 1. You can plan offline for upcoming rounds.
We will be running the subgrant competitions annually in February. Timeline will be similar from year to year.
Why not! If you still meet the eligibility criteria you can consider re-applying.
Yes, e-signatures in the form of DocuSign, Adobe Fill and Sign, and formats similar to these examples will be accepted.
The School Project Budget spreadsheet must be uploaded in Microsoft Excel Macro format. The narrative responses can be submitted in word of PDF format. Please see the Application Webinar Slides page 19 for more detail.
All documents that are required to be uploaded must be attached in the grant documents folder in FedReporting.com. There is no “submit for review button” in this window, the applicant is required to click on the edit document icon to attach their file.
Any field that asks for phone/cell/fax numbers is set as a numeric field. Do not include dashes, only type in the numbers.
We used the Philadelphia School Districts performance framework to create ours. You can find a listing of Track Record suggested evidence documents here.
DSCR should only be a relevant metric for applicants that have long-term debt service (i.e., mortgage or bond on their school building). For almost all applicants, they won’t have a DSCR as they’re simply in a 10-year lease with a landlord.
So, for your case, you would disregard that requirement and then let the PRT know that they should disregard this number unless the school has borrowed funds to purchase its school facility.
June 30th financials for 3 years is great.
This attachment was meant as a backup to project specific narrative 6 ‘ A description of how the school will work with school districts to ensure students receive transportation consistent with the requirements of 24 Pa. Stat. Ann. §§ 17-1726-A.’ If your school does not provide any transportation, please let us know that. If your school does provide any transportation such as for SPED, after school programs, etc, we would like to see the policy and procedures for those occasions.
This is intended as back up for the project specific narratives. The project specific narrative asks for ‘ A description of how the eligible applicant will support the use of effective parent, family, and community engagement strategies to operate each charter school that will receive funding under the SE’s program. Artifacts could be information about your Parent/Teacher organization, info from your website, the opt-eds you had your parents do, anything like that.
Yes, we were using fed words, we are referring to a charter.
This is geared towards new charters, we will make that clearer.
The guidelines do require that the application be provided to the authorizer and signed off on. With that being said, all we need for our records is page 41.
Please let us know if this happens and we will address on a case by case basis.
