1. Adult Education Budget Amendments
Note: This presentation has narrative slide notes for each slide.
Adult Education Budget Amendments
Technical College System of Georgia
Office of Adult Education
Updated for FY18
This presentation explains the Budget Amendment Process for the Georgia Adult Education Program. The main objective of the training is to assist local program personnel in understanding budget amendment procedures and to cut down on the number of budget amendments that are returned to programs due to errors.
Before getting started, please make sure that you have a copy of the current Budget Amendment Request Form available as a reference.

2. What is a Budget Amendment?
A Budget Amendment is a written request to change the way money is allocated in an RFA budget.
Simply put, a budget amendment is a written request to change the way money is allocated in an adult education (RFA) budget. When organizations apply for adult education funds, they submit a budget or budgets stating what they will do with the money. Those initial budgets becomes part of the contract that OAE has with the local program. Any changes to those budgets, must be approved by OAE.

3. Reasons to Amend a Budget
Any time you want to spend money differently than was planned in the program budget. For example:
Change in personnel – new, retirement, additional
Pay changes – part-time to full-time, fringe benefits
Operational increases/decreases – rent, utilities
Originally Budgeted for something that is no longer needed – equipment, conference registration
Emergency use of funds – an emergency forces a site move
Any time estimated expenses exceed the planned budget
What are some reasons to amend a budget? In short, you must request to amend a budget any time you want to spend money differently than was planned in the program budget. For example, if there was a change in personnel, such as hiring a new full-time teacher or receiving notification that a teacher is going to retire. Other reasons could include changing a position from part-time to full-time and having to amend the budget to cover the cost of increased salary and fringe benefits. Changes in operational expenses such as rent or utilities must be addressed through a budget amendment. Perhaps a piece of equipment was budgeted for, but now it is not needed. In the past, program locations have experienced emergencies, like flooding or tornados, that forced a site to move, adding expenses that were unplanned. PAs should submit a budget amendment any time an estimated expense is going to exceed the planned budget.

4. Timeframe for Submission
Ongoing budget tracking and monthly meetings with your budget office will show when amendments are needed
Submit a request as soon as you find out
Submit a request before you spend the money! An amendment may be denied.
OAE holds the Adult Education Program Administrator responsible for tracking budgets and expenditures. Ongoing budget tracking and monthly meetings with your budget office will show the areas where budget amendments will be needed. The program administrator should submit a request as soon as the need is realized. Submit the request before spending the money. It is always possible for an amendment to be denied.

5. Adult Education Budgets
Five possible Budget Sections:
Federal Section 231 – Adult Education (ABE, ASE, ESL)
Federal Section 225 – Corrections and Institutionalized
Federal Section 223 – Professional Development
Federal IELCE – Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education
State Budget
Project Numbers within the federal Budget Sections change from year to year. Make sure you are using the current fiscal year form.
There are five possible budget Sections in adult education. They are listed on this slide. The federal Budget Sections have assigned Project Numbers, which change from year to year. When completing a budget amendment request form, be sure to use the current fiscal year form, so that the Project Numbers are correct.

6. Moving Funds between Sections
Yes, you can move:
231 Adult Education to 225 Corrections
225 Corrections to 231 Adult Education
231 Adult Education and 225 Corrections into 223 Professional Development
No, you cannot move funds from:
223 Professional Development
Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education
State
There are a few rules about moving funds between budget Sections. Adult Education programs can move funds between Federal 231 Adult Education and Federal 225 (Corrections) funds. You can also move funds from 231 or 225 into Professional Development.
You cannot move funds from 223 Professional Development, IELCE, or State.

7. Separate Amendment Forms
Separate amendment forms are required for each budget section
For example: To move $10,000 from 225 to 231, the program would submit one amendment requesting to decrease 225 funds by $10,000 and another amendment requesting to increase 231 funds by $10,000.
Before completing a Budget Amendment Request form, keep in mind that that a separate amendment form is required for each budget Section. An example is shown on the slide.

8. Filling out the Request Form
Complete each part of the form;
Incomplete forms will be returned to the program
Keep up with the numbers you assign amendments and do not duplicate (1, 2, 3, etc.)
Amounts can be dollars and cents
Use the specific Project # and Line Item
Each part of the form needs to be completed, starting with the organization name, the SDA #, the Budget Section, and the amendment number. Keep up with the numbers that you assign amendments, as there can only be one #1, one #2, etc. Amounts can be in dollars or dollars and cents. When completing the grid, be sure to select the correct Line Item and Project from the dropdown menus. Include the current budget amount, what the new budget amount will be, and the amount of increase or decrease.

9. What is a Line Item?
The “Line Item” referenced on the amendment form is from RFA Budget Form #1, which is shown on the right ►
Note: Project 223, Professional Development, only has one Line Item - Operating.
The requested Line Item column on the Budget Amendment Request Form refers back to the Line Items from RFA Budget Form #1. Please note that Project 223, Professional Development, only has one Line Item - Operating.

10. What is a Project?
The “Project” referenced on the amendment form is from RFA Budget Form #1, which is shown on the right ►
Note: Project 223, Professional Development has only one Project – Program.
The requested Project column on the Budget Amendment Request Form refers back to the Projects on RFA Budget Form #1. Please note that Project 223, Professional Development, has only one Project – Program.

11. Provide an Explanation
Cite the exact reasons for the decrease or increase. Make sure the language is in the form of a request.
Use the “future tense” to explain what the program will do, if approved.
Make sure to provide enough details for the reviewer to fully understand your request.
Include the amount of money to be amended.
The Request Form asks the Program to “describe the specific reasons the amendment is needed.” Be sure to give specific reasons to justify the decrease or increase. Remember to use language that indicates this is a request. Use the future tense to explain what the program will do with the money, if approved. Including more details will help the amendment reviewer have a better understanding of the request. Always include the amount of money to be amended.

12. Examples of Insufficient Explanations
Money needed for equipment.
Purchased computers for church site.
Joyce quit. Want to use money for supplies.
Paid for interpreter for deaf student. Need money in line item for reimbursement.
On the slide, you can see some of the kinds of explanations the OAE has received in the past. These do not provide enough information to receive an approval. The next four slides provide examples of sufficient explanations.

13. Sufficient Explanation #1: Moving $ between Projects and Lines (231)
Personnel departures have freed up salary money. We want to request to decrease Section 231 – Program, Full-time Payroll by $855, so that we can increase Section 231 – Program, Supplies & Materials, and use the funds to purchase math and reading texts for the Oak County Adult Education Center.
This is an example of moving dollars between Project and Line Items of the same Budget Section, in this case Federal 231.

14. Sufficient Explanation #2: Moving $ between Projects and Lines (IELCE)
Amendment #4 is needed to move funds from IELCE – Program, Part-time Payroll to IELCE – Program, Equipment for the purchase of student computers to replace outdated ones (5+ years old) at the Pine County Senior Center site, for a cost of $9,
This is another example of moving from one Line Item to another within the same Budget Section, in this case Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education.

15. Sufficient Explanation #3: Moving $ between Sections
Amendment #4:
Our request is to decrease Section 225 – Program, Equipment, by $1,224 which cannot be utilized in corrections at this time, and use the funds to purchase an instructor computer for the Housing Authority site in Sycamore County (See Amendment #5).
Amendment #5: An instructor computer is needed at the Housing Authority site in Sycamore County. Our request is to increase Section 231 – Program, Equipment by $1,224. Funds would come from a decrease in Section 225 – Program, Equipment. (See amendment #4).
When requesting to move funds from one Budget Section to another, you will need to use two amendment request forms, as shown in the example. In this case, one amendment is used for 225 and another amendment is used for 231.

16. Sufficient Explanation #4: Moving $ to Professional Development
Amendment #6 is needed to decrease funds from Section 231 – Administration, Part-time Payroll to send three ABE instructors to the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Conference in San Antonio at a cost of $3,956 for registration fees, flights, ground travel, and hotel. (See Amendment #7 for the Section 223 increase.)
Here is another example of moving from one Budget Section to another (231 to 223). Note that the example mentions using two request forms (Amendment #6 and #7).

17. Submitting a Request
Collect signatures from the Program Administrator and the VP of Administration, the Business Office Director or other designated budget authority.
Each version of the form has specific instructions.
Submit all requests directly to:
Before submitting a request, it must be signed by the Program Administrator and the Vice President of Administration, the Business Office Director, or other designated budget authority. Detailed instructions for the Excel and PDF versions of the Form are included with each version.
the PDF form to This is the only address you need to use to submit budget amendment requests. Amendments submitted other ways will be returned to the program. You may submit several requests in one , but please make sure that each is a separate document and that the document names are unique. For example: Central Georgia 225 Amendment #1, Central Georgia 231 Amendment #2. We need each request as a separate document, so that they can be routed through the approval process in an efficient manner. Some requests may be approved quickly, while others could take longer.

18. Review by OAE OAE will review the amendment request
The program will receive a response, via , within ten (10) business days
A reason will be given, if the amendment is denied:
Amendment does not balance
Not an allowable expense or change
Explanation is insufficient
The program may be instructed to rework/resubmit
OAE personnel will review the request and provide a response, via , within five business days. If the request is denied, a reason will be provided. The program may be asked to rework the request and resubmit it.

19. Once the Request is Approved
Complete all budget pages for the projects being amended
Submit the amended budget pages to:
Your organization’s accounting office
Rodney Dorton
Once approval is received, update all budget pages for the Sections being amended and submit copies to your organization’s accounting office and the OAE personnel listed on this slide.

20. Contact Information
Office of Adult Education
Fiscal Operations Manager
Rodney Dorton
Instructional Services Director
Bobby Creech
Central/Southeast Georgia
Grant Program Support Coordinator
Felicia Phelps
Metro Atlanta/North Georgia
Charita Boles
Metro Atlanta/West Georgia
Leatricia Williams
South/Southwest Georgia
Steve Pearce
Thank you for viewing this presentation. If you have any questions about the Budget Amendment Request Form or process, please contact Rodney Dorton, Bobby Creech, or your assigned GPS Coordinator.