31202 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 109 / Monday, June 8, 1998 / Notices

Department enhance the quality, utility,

and clarity of the information to be

collected, and (5) how might the

Department minimize the burden of this

collection on the respondents, including

through the use of information

technology.

Dated: June 2, 1998.

Hazel Fiers,

Acting Deputy Chief Information Officer,

Office of the Chief Information Officer.

Office of Elementary and Secondary

Education

Type of Review: New.

Title: Annual Report of Title I

Allocation to Local Educational

Agencies (LEAs).

Frequency: Annually.

Affected Public: State, local or Tribal

Gov’t; SEAs or LEAs.

Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour

Burden:

Responses: 52.

Burden Hours: 416.

Abstract: An annual survey will be

conducted to collect data on Title I

allocations to local educational agencies

in order for the Department of

Education to establish a prior year base

on which to determine ‘‘hold-harmless’’

guarantees for each LEA when

computing Title I, Part A allocations in

accordance with the authorizing statute.

[FR Doc. 98–15121 Filed 6–5–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Office of Elementary and Secondary

Education; Intent To Repay to the State

of New Mexico Department of

Education Funds Recovered as a

Result of Two Final Audit

Determinations

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of intent to award

grantback funds.

SUMMARY: Under section 459 of the

General Education Provisions Act

(GEPA), 20 U.S.C. 1234h, the U.S.

Department of Education (Department)

intends to repay to the State of New

Mexico Department of Education, the

State educational agency (SEA), an

amount equal to 75 percent of the

principal amount of funds returned to

the Department as the result of final

audit determinations. The Department’s

recovery of funds followed the SEA’s

issuance of a final letter of

determination dated April 10, 1996 to

Roswell Independent School District

(RISD) requiring the return of

$62,957.83, which was subsequently

sent to the Department on June 11, 1996.

This notice describes the SEA’s plan,

submitted on behalf of RISD, the local

educational agency (LEA), for the use of

the repaid funds and the terms and

conditions under which the Department

intends to make those funds available.

The notice invites comments on the

proposed grantback.

DATES: All Comments must be received

on or before July 8, 1998.

ADDRESSES: All written comments

should be addressed to Mary Jean

LeTendre, Director, Compensatory

Education Programs, Office of

Elementary and Secondary Education,

U.S. Department of Education, 600

Independence Avenue, SW, Portals

Building, Room 4400, Washington, D.C.

20202–6132. Comments may also be

sent through the Internet to:

comments@ed.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: S.

Colene Nelson, U.S. Department of

Education, 600 Independence Avenue,

SW, Portals Building, Room 4400,

Washington, D.C. 20202–6132.

Telephone: (202) 260–0979. Individuals

who use a telecommunications device

for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal

Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–

800–877–8339 between 8 a.m. and 8

p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through

Friday. Internet address:

ColenelNelson@ed.gov.

Individuals with disabilities may

obtain this document in an alternate

format (e.g., Braille, large print,

audiotape, or computer diskette) on

request to the contact person listed in

the preceding paragraph.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

The Department has recovered

$62,957.83 from the New Mexico SEA

in satisfaction of claims arising from an

audit of Roswell Independent School

District (LEA) covering fiscal years (FY)

1993 and 1994.

The claims involved the LEA’s

administration of Chapter 1 of Title I of

the Elementary and Secondary

Education Act of 1965, as amended in

1988, a program providing financial

assistance to State and local educational

agencies to address the special

educational needs of educationally

deprived children in areas with high

concentrations of children from lowincome families (Chapter 1).

Specifically, the audit determinations,

made by an independent auditor acting

under the Single Audit Act of 1984 and

upheld by the SEA, found that for FY

1993, $30,769.72 representing partial

salaries of six associates at Washington

Avenue Elementary was allocated to the

Chapter 1 program. However, the LEA

did not maintain appropriate time

distribution records to support the

allocation. Also, for the following FY

1994, $32,188.11 representing partial

salaries of six associates at Washington

Avenue Elementary was allocated to the

Chapter 1 program. In this instance,

only the August and September time

distribution reports were available. The

auditors found that no additional time

and attendance reports were maintained

during the year demonstrating the actual

time that staff spent on Chapter 1

activities. In the absence of appropriate

support documentation to substantiate

the salaries and wages chargeable to the

Chapter 1 program, as required by Office

of Management and Budget Circular A–

87, ‘‘Cost Principles for State and Local

Governments,’’ the SEA required the

LEA to reimburse the Federal

Government in the amount of

$62,957.83 for both audited years.

B. Authority for Awarding a Grantback

Section 459(a) of GEPA, 20 U.S.C.

1234h, provides that whenever the

Secretary has recovered program funds

following a final audit determination,

the Secretary may consider those funds

to be additional funds available for the

program and may arrange to repay to the

SEA or LEA affected by that

determination an amount not to exceed

75 percent of the recovered funds. The

Secretary may enter into this grantback

arrangement if the Secretary determines

that the—

(1) Practices or procedures of the SEA

or LEA that resulted in the audit

determination have been corrected, and

the SEA or LEA is, in all other respects,

in compliance with the requirements of

the applicable program, provided that

the SEA or LEA was notified of any

noncompliance with such requirements

and given a reasonable period of time to

remedy that noncompliance;

(2) SEA has submitted to the Secretary

a plan for the use of the funds to be

awarded under the grantback

arrangement that meets the

requirements of the program, and, to the

extent possible, benefits the population

that was affected by the failure to

comply or by the misexpenditures that

resulted in the audit exception; and

(3) Use of funds to be awarded under

the grantback arrangement in

accordance with the SEA’s plan would

serve to achieve the purposes of the

program under which the funds were

originally granted.

C. Plan for Use of Funds Awarded

Under a Grantback Arrangement

Pursuant to section 459(a)(2) of GEPA,

the SEA has applied for a grantback of

$47,218—75 percent of the principal
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 109 / Monday, June 8, 1998 / Notices 31203

amount recovered by the Department—

and has submitted a plan on behalf of

the LEA for use of the grantback funds

to meet the special educational needs of

educationally deprived children in

programs administered under Title I,

Part A, of ESEA, successor to Chapter 1.

According to the plan, the LEA will

use the grantback funds under Title I to

provide summer enrichment programs

for educationally deprived children at

three sites, in June and July 1998.

Program services to be provided are as

follows:

(1) Washington Avenue Elementary—

Approximately 120 students would

receive instruction in reading, math,

and writing. Students would also

receive 30 minutes of computer

instruction, fitness activities, and music

instruction. Services at this site would

run from June 8, 1998 to July 7, 1998

with an estimated budget of $29,210.

(2) Berrendo Elementary—

Approximately 60 to 70 students would

receive instruction in reading with a

focus on phonics instruction as well as

literature. Also, math skills would be

reinforced and students would receive

computer assisted instruction. Services

at this site would run from June 22,

1998 to July 17, 1998 with an estimated

budget of $15,678.

(3) Del Norte Elementary—

Approximately 60 students would

receive instruction in reading. Students

needing assistance in math would

receive help on an as needed basis.

Services at this site would run from

June 8, 1998 to July 3, 1998 with an

estimated budget of $11,705.

The total estimated cost of the LEA’s

summer enrichment program is $56,593.

The additional funds ($9,375) would

come from the LEA’s current Title I

allocation for 1997–98.

D. The Assistant Secretary’s

Determination

The Assistant Secretary has carefully

reviewed the plan submitted by the

SEA. Based upon that review, the

Assistant Secretary has determined that

the conditions under section 459 of

GEPA have been met. These

determinations are based upon the best

information available to the Assistant

Secretary at the present time. If this

information is not accurate or complete,

the Assistant Secretary may take

appropriate administrative action. In

finding that the conditions of section

459 of GEPA have been met, the

Assistant Secretary makes no

determination concerning any pending

audit recommendations or final audit

determinations.

E. Notice of the Assistant Secretary’s

Intent To Enter Into a Grantback

Arrangement

Section 459(d) of GEPA requires that,

at least 30 days before entering into an

arrangement to award funds under a

grantback, the Department must publish

in the Federal Register a notice of intent

to do so, and the terms and conditions

under which payment will be made.

In accordance with section 459(d) of

GEPA, notice is hereby given that the

Assistant Secretary intends to make

funds available to the SEA under a

grantback arrangement. The grantback

award would be in the amount of

$47,218.

F. Terms and Conditions Under Which

Payments Under a Grantback

Arrangement Would Be Made

The SEA and LEA agree to comply

with the following terms and conditions

under which payment under a grantback

arrangement would be made:

(1) The funds awarded under the

grantback must be spent in accordance

with—

(a) All applicable statutory and

regulatory requirements;

(b) The plan that the SEA submitted

and any amendments to that plan that

are approved in advance by the

Assistant Secretary; and

(c) The budget that was submitted

with the plan and any amendments to

the budget that are approved in advance

by the Assistant Secretary.

(2) All funds received under the

grantback arrangement must be

obligated in accordance with the SEA’s

plan but, in no event, after September

30, 1999 as required under 459(c) of

GEPA.

(3) The SEA, on behalf of the LEA,

will, not later than December 31, 1998,

submit a report to the Assistant

Secretary that—

(a) Indicates that the funds awarded

under the grantback have been spent in

accordance with the proposed plan and

approved budget; and

(b) Describes the results and

effectiveness of the project for which the

funds were spent.

(4) Separate accounting records must

be maintained documenting the

expenditures of funds awarded under

the grantback arrangement.

Electronic Access to This Document

Anyone may view this document, as

well as all other Department of

Education documents published in the

Federal Register, in text or portable

document format (pdf) on the World

Wide Web at either of the following

sites:

http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htn

http://www.ed.gov/news.html

To use the pdf you must have the

Adobe Acrobat Reader Program with

Search, which is available free at either

of the previous sites. If you have

questions about using the pdf, call the

U.S. Government Printing Office toll

free at 1–888–293.6498.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Number 84.010, Title I, Improving Basic

Programs Operated by Local Education

Agencies)

Dated: May 21, 1998.

Gerald N. Tirozzi,

Assistant Secretary for Elementary and

Secondary Education.

[FR Doc. 98–15068 Filed 6–5–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Environmental Management SiteSpecific Advisory Board, Department

of Energy, Los Alamos National

Laboratory

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of open meeting.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the provisions of

the Federal Advisory Committee Act

(Public Law 92–463, 86 Stat. 770) notice

is hereby given of the following

Advisory Committee meeting:

Environmental Management SiteSpecific Advisory Board (EM SSAB),

Los Alamos National Laboratory.

DATES: Thursday, June 25, 1998: 6:00

p.m.–9:00 p.m., 6:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

(public comment session).

ADDRESS: Cities of Gold Casino Hotel,

Pojoaque, New Mexico.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.

Ann DuBois, Northern New Mexico

Citizens’ Advisory Board, Los Alamos

National Laboratory, 528 35th Street,

Los Alamos, New Mexico 87544, (505)

665–5048.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Purpose of the Board: The purpose of

the Advisory Board is to make

recommendations to DOE and its

regulators in the areas of environmental

restoration, waste management, and

related activities.

Tentative Agenda

6:00 p.m. Call to Order by DOE

6:00 p.m. Welcome by Chair, Roll

Call, Approval of Agenda and Minutes

6:30 p.m. Public Comments

7:00 p.m. Break

7:15 p.m. Board Business

9:00 p.m. Adjourn

Public Participation: The meeting is

open to the public. The public may file