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Board removes formative assessment grant from agenda after missing IDOE award letter
Summary
Trustees declined to approve a $22,798.44 formative assessment grant memorandum at a Oct. 9 School City of East Chicago work session because the district had not yet received an award letter from the Indiana Department of Education, and the board cited State Board of Accounts guidance requiring written award notification.
The School City of East Chicago board of trustees removed the formative assessment grant (agenda item 6.01) from Tuesday’s work-session agenda after trustees said the district had not produced an Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) award letter confirming the grant.
Trustee Diane Smith raised the requirement that, under guidance from the Indiana State Board of Accounts, the board must have an official award letter before approving memoranda related to state or federal funds. The district’s staff said the IDOE posts award amounts in an online database and that a memorandum and a deputy chief academic officer’s transmittal had been received, but trustees said that was not sufficient without a formal award letter attached to the agenda packet.
The formative assessment allocation listed in the materials was $22,798.44 and was described as a noncompetitive state payment to offset assessment costs. The memorandum named approved assessments consistent with Indiana Code 20-32-5, naming benchmark and interim assessments (NWEA MAP, universal screeners and PSAT 9) the district intends to use.
Board members repeatedly requested that the district provide hard copies of the IDOE award letter and any supporting documents “first thing tomorrow,” and one trustee said the item would be removed from the agenda in the absence of the award letter. District staff agreed to upload and print the award notification for board members before the next meeting.
No formal vote to approve the grant was taken at the work session. Trustees and staff also discussed whether the formative assessment payment is competitive or noncompetitive; staff characterized it as noncompetitive and said amounts are determined by the state’s published allocation system.
The discussion over 6.01 followed repeated, similar exchanges about other grant memoranda on the agenda, with trustees insisting that award letters accompany any grant approval memos going forward.
A copy of the IDOE notification was reported as available to some staff by email; trustees requested the document be provided to all board members in printed form ahead of any approval action.
The board did not adopt the grant at the Oct. 9 work session; staff said they would provide the award letter and related paperwork for the next posting so trustees could consider the memorandum.
