If local, state, or federal grant funds will be requested to fund all or part of a program, grant applications must be prepared. It is critical that the school district's planning efforts dictate the decision to request grant funds, rather than vice versa. When the grant application is developed, the grant budget should be based on how the grant funds can best aid in the implementation of the program plan.
Some grants have legal restrictions that affect how the grant funds can be used.
The granting agency may have rules that limit certain types of expenditures. Granting agencies may have different funding periods that affect the way expenditures are assigned to a specific grant. As estimated expenditures are determined they should be categorized as specified by the granting agency. Some grants may require a category or element that is not identifiable from the mandatory account code structure. A school district may have to designate a local code to track such an expenditure for reporting to the granting agency.