School Construction Final Funding Review

1.  When is a school construction project considered completed and ready to be reviewed?

•  A project is considered completed when:

  • all invoices have been paid;
  • all existing litigation/arbitration issues have been resolved;
  • all applicable arbitrage computations have been prepared by bond counsel, the school administrative unit auditor, or other authorized person; and,
  • no further financial transactions are anticipated.
  • Also, where required, certificates of occupancy shall have been obtained.
  • Finally, when the SAU has received the project completion letter from the School Facilities Team.

2.  When will the final compliance review be scheduled?

• Once a project is considered complete, the Fiscal Review and Compliance Team Supervisor will contact the SAU to schedule the final compliance review.

3. What should be done to prepare for the final compliance review?

• All records pertaining to the project should be made available for the Department Fiscal Review and Compliance Team including:

  1. Paid vendor invoices and corresponding warrants
  2. Bank and investment statements
  3. Canceled checks
  4. General ledger & general journal
  5. Cost statement(s) of temporary borrowing
  6. Applicable Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax forms for arbitrage computation(s) - Form 8038-T – Arbitrage Rebate and Penalty in Lieu of Arbitrage Rebate or a letter from the party preparing the computation that states no arbitrage rebate is due the IRS.
  7. Receipt of additional project funds, i.e. Maine Efficiency Grants (a.k.a MPUC Grants).

4.  The review is complete but there are unspent bond proceeds. Can the remaining funds be spent on the project?

        No further expenditures from the construction account(s) are allowed once the SAU receives the project completion letter. 

• Instructions for the Disposition of Unused Bond Proceeds
• Refer to the Department of Education "Chapter 61 - Rules for Major Capital School Construction" Section 11(7) regarding disposition of unexpended bond proceeds.

5.   What happens to the interest that was earned on the investment of temporary borrowing and bond proceeds?

• School Administrative Units are required to return the State’s share of net interest income earned from investment of project funds to the Department.   Refer to Section 11 (6) of "Chapter 61 - Rules for Major Capital School Construction" regarding interest earned on investments.

Maine DOE Major Capital School Construction