Alaska school improvement grant reviews delayed by staff leave

The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development said Wednesday that School Improvement grant applications filed in July face delayed review.

The department's federal programs newsletter attributed the delay to the leave of Christy Roe, who administers the School Recognition and Support program, and to Kerri Bartholomew, who became program manager in August.

First-quarter reimbursement requests are due Oct. 31. The grants team said applications must be in approved status before districts can request reimbursement, and requests filed after the deadline are late and put districts out of compliance. State grant management guidelines require initial application approval by Oct. 31 to request first-quarter reimbursement.

Oct. 15 is the submission date for first-quarter progress monitoring reports, now recommended but not required unless a district needs them. Second-quarter and end-of-year reports remain required.