Hoping to get some more time to spend federal funds, the V.I. Department of Education is seeking a waiver to the Sept. 30 deadline, Assistant Commissioner Donna Frett-Gregory said in a statement released Monday.
The Education Department’s fiscal year 2009 federal funding and one-time funding through the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was to be obligated by Sept. 30, 2011 and liquidated by the end of the year, according to Frett-Gregory’s statement.
Through a piece of legislation called the Tydings Amendment, the federal government also provided all states and territories with the option to seek a waiver and extend the obligation deadline, she said.
“Although we have obligated all the funds, some of the activities will not be implemented by December 2011,” Frett-Gregory said. “The extended authority to liquidate/obligate these funds would enable the Department and its sub-recipients to increase the quality of education for students, improve academic achievement, and continue to assist the local population with its programming.”
One such activity is professional development training for local teachers that will stretch beyond December, she said. If approved, the waiver would extend the obligation deadline until September 30, 2012, which would allow Education to draw down on the remaining funding without having to seek permission from the federal government, according to Frett-Gregory.
