(Revised June 27, 2022)
The Fiscal Guidelines for School Library Systems provide general guidance for the financial management of State Aid by local agencies. In addition to these guidelines, School Library System (SLS) programs must be conducted in accordance with applicable State laws, regulations, and directives, including but not limited to:
More information on relevant New York State Laws and Regulations.
The program fiscal year for the SLS program is July 1 to June 30. All SLS program budgets (section 12.1 in the annual report) should be based on all funding for the coming year. Annual Reports should be based on this time period, and Part 13 of the annual report should include only the state aid funds listed below. SLS currently receive two categories of state formula funding which are described in Education Law – Operating Aid (basic operating aid and supplemental operating aid) and Categorical Aid (automation aid). Education Law 284 contains the formulas for SLS basic operating aid and automation aid. Education Law 273 (12) contains the formulas for SLS supplemental operating aid.
In order to be eligible for the payment of State funds, an SLS is required at minimum, to have the following three approvable items:
Accessible online via the State Library’s website, the SLS Plans of Service, Annual Reports and applications are completed online by the SLS director and then electronically submitted to the State Library for review and approval. The State Library will email the director when final approval is granted.
Information about SLS Plans of Service, including plan submission and amendment due dates, are posted on the State Library website.
SLS Annual Reports are submitted to the State Library no later than three months after the end of the SLS program fiscal year. The due date is November 1.
SLS State Aid Application online availability and due dates are dependent on timely passage of the State Budget and the availability of individual SLS payment allocations. The State Library will notify SLS Directors when State Aid Applications are posted online for SLS completion and submission. State Aid Applications will specify the project codes and payment amounts for each category of SLS state formula aid (basic operating aid, supplemental operating aid and automation aid). This information enables the SLS director to track payment status.
Please note: Copies of documentation such as claim forms, travel vouchers and invoices should not be mailed to the State Library or submitted with the SLS Annual Report unless specifically requested. Such documentation should be retained in the local educational agency’s program files according to the District or BOCES records retention plan.
SLS are expected to prepare an annual program budget which outlines planned expenditures for state formula aid funds and all other sources of funding for the SLS program fiscal year. The SLS budget should be reviewed and approved by the administrator of the local educational agency. Copies of the SLS annual program budget should be retained in the SLS program office and made available for examination upon request.
Because SLS State Aid allocations are 100% State Aided Formula Programs, the SLS are not required to submit an FS-10A (Proposed Amendment for a Federal or State Project) or an FS-10F (Final Expenditure for a Federal or State Project) to the State Education Department. Any amendments to the SLS annual budget should be handled locally within the educational agency and related paperwork should be kept on file for inspection. Final expenditures by budget category will be reported on the system annual report for the following year.
In some instances, an SLS program is unable to expend the entire budgeted annual state formula aid allocation within the SLS program fiscal year. In such cases, unexpended state formula aid fund balances may be “rolled over” from one SLS fiscal year to the next SLS fiscal year. The local education agency Business office should account separately for these state formula aid “rollover funds.” Unexpended State fund balances may be rolled over into any budget category within the respective Operating Aid and Categorical Aid allotments. These balances must be totally expended during the program fiscal year immediately following the program fiscal year of the initial state appropriation (for example: unexpended FY 2023/24 funds that are “rolled over” to FY 2024/2025 must be expended by June 30, 2025). Balance amounts carried over from one year to the next are reported on the SLS Annual Report and will be reviewed as part of the SLS Annual Report approval process.
To receive state aid, each SLS director and the local educational agency administrator are required to assure to the State Library and the State Education Department that the SLS and its local educational agency are in compliance with specific requirements that are stated in Commissioners Regulations and Education Law. These assurances include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following:
The following general guidelines concerning SLS expenditures are intended to assist SLS directors and local educational agencies in ensuring that state funds are properly budgeted, expended, tracked and reported.
State funds may be used to pay for salaries and benefits for the SLS Director and other SLS staff. SLS directors and their required support staff must be employed and paid on a full-time annual basis in order to provide all services related to the SLS program per Commissioner’s Regulation §90.18.
Minimally, each SLS is required by Commissioner’s Regulation §90.18 (d) to employ one qualified SLS director who works fulltime (.83 – 1.0 FTE) on SLS purposes. In addition, the SLS must employ minimally the full-time equivalent of one or more support staff whose individual or collective FTE is .83 – 1.0. Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) is defined as the amount of time (expressed as a whole number or a decimal) that an employee devotes to SLS program work and other SLS-related activities.
School library systems facing temporary challenges in employing a full-time qualified SLS director and/or full-time support staff may wish to seek a time-limited variance from the requirements in Commissioner’s Regulations. Prior to submitting a Variance Request Form to the State Library, the SLS director should first contact the system’s regional liaison at DLD to discuss the situation. If the situation necessitates a variance request, the SLS Director will be asked to send a completed Variance Request Form to DLD. The variance request should include an explanation of why the variance is requested for the program year as well as the system’s plan for achieving timely compliance. The form should be signed by the district superintendent or superintendent of "Big Five" city school districts, as appropriate.
There may be “ex-officio” members on an SLS council. These members are non-voting members and can be, but are not limited to, people from within the organization (a BOCES or city school district), other than the SLS director. In accordance with Commissioner’s Regulation §90.18 (b)(2)(i) “Council Members shall serve without compensation.” Therefore, because of the possibility of conflict of interest or the appearance of such conflict, council members, whether they are voting members or “Ex-Officio” (non-voting) members, should not be engaged as employees or consultants to the system for which they are serving as a council member.
Salary payments must be in accordance with the local schedule currently in effect at the BOCES/"Big Five" city school districts.
Fringe benefit rates for a state-funded project must be the same used for other staff of the local agency. Fringe benefits may only be claimed for the salaries, or part thereof, which are actually expended on the state program.
State funds may be used to pay for purchased services expenditures for SLS purposes. Purchased services include the hiring of personnel from outside the agency as consultants, as well as rentals, registrations, admission fees, tuition costs, telephone, repairs to equipment, and contractual services (leases, database vendor service, etc.).
The cost basis for a consultant may be an amount per day for a certain number of days or an amount per person or item. The State Library has the authority to request copies of any contracts. When there is an employer-employee relationship between the local agency and program personnel, such personnel should not be budgeted as consultants. The existence of an employer-employee relationship is determined by the degree of control exercised by the employer. An employee is usually trained by the employer, is directed in how work is to be performed and has a continuing work relationship with the employer. An independent consultant decides when, where, and how the work is to be performed; is paid according to an agreed-upon performance or result of work; is free to contract with and work for others and is considered to have expertise in the field.
Expenditures for rental costs are allowable only if the local educational agency is renting from an outside agency. Rent may not be charged when the local educational agency actually owns the space or item involved. Expenditures for building rent may be allowable if the SLS office is housed in a facility outside a BOCES/BIG 5 City building. If rent is charged, the sum total of rental expenditures and overhead allowances may not exceed five percent (5%) of the total state formula funds for SLS Operating Aid (Basic Operating Aid and Supplemental Operating Aid).
Expenditures for the installation of direct telephone lines (voice, data or telecommunications) for SLS purposes in school libraries in member public school districts and buildings, nonpublic school libraries and the program office are eligible expenses. Unless the SLS program necessitates the installation of separate telephone facilities, monthly service charges may not be prorated and charged as a program expense. However, toll or local usage charges specifically for SLS purposes are allowed.
Reimbursement of conference fees for SLS member school librarians is an eligible expense as is reimbursement of such fees for the SLS director. Reimbursement of conference fees for international conferences held outside of the continental United States is not an eligible expenditure of SLS state funds.
The cost of contractual delivery or mail service with a non-BOCES vendor is an eligible expense.
Work performed by a non-BOCES vendor is an eligible expense.
Database purchases, eBooks and other purchases of electronic resources are eligible expenses.
State funds may be used for sub-grants or mini grants to school libraries in member public school districts and buildings and nonpublic school libraries that are related to SLS purposes. Sub-grants to individual library staff in member school libraries for travel or other SLS purposes are allowable and are included in this category for reporting purposes.
State funds may be used to purchase supplies and materials for SLS program purposes. Eligible expenses in this category include: books and other print and nonprint library materials, postal supplies, miscellaneous office supplies, equipment costing under $5,000, magazine subscriptions, software, and miscellaneous program/workshop supplies.
Actual expenses claimed against a state program are limited to the maximum amounts authorized by local participant agency policy. For agencies where such written policy does not exist, expenditures are allowed at no more than the state-approved maximum travel rates that were in effect at the time the travel occurred. Reimbursement of travel expenditures for international conferences held outside of the continental United States is not an eligible expenditure of SLS state funds.
An eligible equipment expense meets the following criteria:
State funds may be used to purchase services resulting from a cross-contract with a BOCES other than the local agency for such activities/items as delivery, mailings, printing and telecommunications for SLS purposes.
Approved indirect cost rates for the “Big Five” city school districts (New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and Yonkers) and each BOCES are computed annually by New York State Education Department (NYSED). BOCES and Big 5 Cities must use their approved NYSED indirect cost rate and may not exceed that rate. SLS directors should confer directly with their BOCES or Big Five business office to find out the NYSED approved indirect cost rate for their SLS.
For the School Library System program, the maximum indirect cost rate is 5% of the direct cost base of the SLS operating aid (Basic Operating Aid and Supplemental Operating Aid) even if the approved NYSED indirect cost rate is above 5%. Indirect costs may not be claimed on SLS Categorical Aid for Automation.
Indirect costs can be broadly defined as central administration costs and certain other organization-wide costs that are incurred in connection with a program but that cannot readily be identified with the program (e.g. payroll preparation, central ordering, and processing). An indirect cost rate may be established that, when applied to the direct costs of a program, generates an amount to be used in support of such central administrative costs.
Eligible expenses include:
Eligible expenses include: