Att_2007 CE supporting statement 09.12.2007

Page 4 - Supporting Statement

SUPPORTING STATEMENT FOR

PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT SUBMISSION

APPLICATION PACKAGE FOR THE CREDIT ENHANCEMENT FOR CHARTER SCHOOL FACILITIES PROGRAM

(OMB 1855-0007)

Justification:

1. An application is required by statute to award the Credit Enhancement for Charter School Facilities Program (formerly known as the Charter School Facilities Financing Demonstration Program) grants. These grants are made to private, non-profits; public entities; and consortia of these organizations. The funds are to be deposited into a reserve account that will be used to leverage private funds on behalf of charter schools to acquire, construct, and renovate school facilities.

These grants are authorized by Title V, Part B, Subpart 2 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

The U.S. Department of Education is seeking OMB approval for an electronic collection for the application for the Credit Enhancement for Charter School Facilities Program.

2. The application allows private, non-profits; public entities; and consortia of these organizations to apply for Federal assistance. The applicants will provide a description of their proposed activities and provide information necessary to determine which grant applications should be funded. An additional part of the application consists of assurances regarding the applicant's compliance with applicable Federal laws and regulations.

The information provided in the application will allow field readers and the Department of Education to determine if applicants are eligible and identify which applications most merit funding.

3. Applicants will be required to submit a mandatory Grants.gov application to the U.S. Department of Education. We will insert the most recent Grants.gov language in the application package shortly prior to announcing any future grant competition. This language may include some information collection requirements for things such as grant abstracts.

3. The information supplied by the applicant is unique to this program and the particular grantee. The application is a single document intended to serve a specific authorized purpose, and is in keeping with statutory requirements.

3. Small businesses are not impacted by this data collection.

3. The Department cannot distribute these grant awards to recipients without an application requesting the funds. If no application information were collected, the Department would not know which organizations want or merit funding

3. There are no special circumstances that require the collection to be conducted in a manner inconsistent with the guidelines in 5 CFR 1320.5.

3. The Department has consulted with potential applicants, offices within ED, including Budget Service and the Office of General Counsel, and other interested organizations and entities to obtain their views on the availability of possible requested information and potential application processes for these grants. The Department also consulted with field readers for suggestions on improving the grant application.
   
   

We will seek public comment via the appropriate Federal Register notices.

3. No gifts or payments will be made to application respondents other than the award to the grant recipient.

3. No assurance of confidentiality is provided.

3. There is no question of sensitive nature in this collection of information.

3. Estimated respondent cost for an application is based on 80 burden hours per application. The figure of 80 burden hours is based on our own experience and the comments from the eligible applicants that we consulted.

We estimate respondent cost at an average of $25 per hour so that the average cost per application would be $25 x 80 burden hours = $2000.

We expect that a total of 15 applications will be received from eligible applicants. Total estimated cost: $2000 x 15 applications = $30,000.

Estimated data burden for grants:

Annual reporting burden per response (preparing and submitting application):

80 burden hours x 15 applicants = 1200 burden hours

Total Burden for Grant = 1200 burden hours

3. There are no startup costs to respondents.

3. Estimated annualized Federal cost:

Program Personnel:

1 person @ $53.05/hr. x 80 hours $4244.00

Printing and mailing applications

200 applications x $2.00 per application $400.00

3. This is a modification to an existing package with a request to extend the expiration for a full three-year period from the date of clearance. In addition, these are the other changes:
   
   

• the application is expanded to include an additional table for past grantees that addresses the risk level of charter schools served; and

• the application includes an Invitational Priority for applicants that propose a grant project that uses competitive forces to obtain the best pricing for charter schools while using the least amount of grant funds.

These two changes were made based on recommendations from the Department ’s grant readers. Many of the applications we receive are from previous applicants and we believe the burden is lower for the applicants that have experience. Consequently, we are not changing the burden hours for this application.

3. There is no plan for publication.

3. The expiration date will be displayed on the information collection.

3. Items F & I were not applicable on the Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submission.

2. Statistical Methodology

This collection does not employ statistical methodology.