Office of Grants Administration

June 2024
Newsletter

Dear Superintendents,

With the State fiscal year end approaching, the Office of Grants Administration (OGA) would like to communicate some important dates related to the fiscal year end along with some important reminders/updates related to school construction grants. Thank you for your attention to these items and we wish you a wonderful school year end and summer.

In collaboration,

Ella Sun
Director of Grants Administration 

FY2024 Year End

Common Issues That Delay Payments

There are a few common issues that delay our office in processing payments in a timely manner. Please check your payment requests for these issues before you submit them to our office:

• Vendor invoices missing signatures from LEAs or LEAs’ owner’s representative
• Lack of proof of payment on vendor invoice
• The total on the DAS-1046S form doesn’t match the total on the payment request submitted via Core-CT

A revised DAS-1046S form is available on our website. Please use the revised form on all new payment requests.  

• School Construction Progress Payments website (ct.gov)

Final Payment Requests

Per statute § 10-287(d): final payment requests should be submitted to DAS within one (1) year from the date of completion and acceptance of the school building project by BOE. Otherwise, the DAS commissioner may withhold 10% of the state reimbursement of such project.  To avoid the 10% late filing penalty, please be sure to submit the final payment request as soon as your BOE accepts the completion of the project.

If you have a completed school construction project but haven’t submitted the final payment request to DAS yet, please make sure to submit the final payment request via the Core-CT Supplier Portal as soon as possible.

Core-CT Supplier Portal (ct.gov)

To learn what information needs to be included as part of the final payment request, please refer to our website for more info.

School Construction Project Closure and Audit (ct.gov)

Legislative Update

Public Act 24-151 made various changes to the contracting provisions in § 10-287, including removing language that (1) prohibited construction managers from submitting bids for project elements under their management (“self-performance”) and (2) allowed site preparation and demolition work to begin before determination of the guaranteed maximum price (GMP) (“early work”).

As you may be aware, removal of the language related to self-performance was the subject of discussion in the press after passage of the bill and was the subject of a signing statement by Governor Lamont, who indicated that he intends to propose repeal of this provision during the next legislative session. You can read that full signing statement on the Governor’s website. 

Bill Notification 2024-10 and Signing Statement (PDF)

We therefore recommend districts take a conservative approach with regard to contracts that may allow for construction manager self-performance or early work. However, if your district intends to use either of these two provisions, please reach out to the DAS grants team to discuss any impact this change may have on reimbursement eligibility.  

Grant Application Updates