MDE 99h STATE GRANT RECIPIENT LIST POSTED

The MDE posted the 99h state grant recipient list late last week. The posted award list on techplan.org includes the total amount requested and the total amount awarded to each team that applied successfully for the grant. FIRST in Michigan created the spreadsheet linked below which separates the stipends and team support awards so that it will be easier for your school or district to know what to pay the coach(es) and what to pay the teams. There are multiple tabs on it.

• 22-23 MDE 99h Recipient Spreadsheet-FIRST Teams Only (link).
• 22-23 MDE 99h Recipient List on techplan.org (link)

CALCULATION OF YOUR AWARD
All awards were reduced by a percentage that would allow the MDE to pay ALL applicants that applied properly.

Accordingly, public schools will receive 80.8% of the max award specified in the RFP, and non-public schools will receive 92.9%. Public and non-public school awards come out of separate buckets of state money, hence the difference between the two awards. If less than the maximum RFP award amount was requested on the application, the reduction was applied to the amount that was requested. There are a few things to keep in mind:

COMPETITION REQUIREMENT
At the end of the season, the MDE requires FIM to submit a list of teams to be defunded if they didn’t meet the grant’s competition participation requirement. FTC and FLL teams are required to compete in one FiM official event. FRC teams are required to participate in two official events.

QUESTIONS
Questions about the posted awards should be directed to the Level 5 person in your school/district or the MDE at mde-edtech@michigan.gov.

WHERE TO WATCH FOR THE PAYMENT
The district will not receive a check for their award. A single payment for the entire award will just be included in the direct deposit they receive from the State each month for School Aid. They will find it on line “99h” of the statement that accompanies the direct deposit. Please tell them to check there. Work with your school/district to access the funds.

TIMING
We expect non-public school districts to receive their awards this month, and public school districts next month.

STIPEND
Remind the district that your stipend must include the 25% match on top of the amount awarded. If they choose not to pay the stipend award to the coach(es) for any reason, they must return it to the MDE.

TEAM SUPPORT AWARD
The support award can be spent on anything related to the team. You are not limited to what you put on the budget in your NexSys application. This includes such things as registration fees (advancement included), T-shirts, robot parts, food, transportation, hand and machine tools, banners, team giveaways, 3D printers, literally ANYTHING for the team.

SOLE USE OF THE MONEY
The award money is intended to be solely used for the team. The district cannot keep the funds and divert them for any other purpose.

UPCOMING FTC SPRING EVENTS
Teams that still need to “check the box” on the competition requirement that accompanies the grant can still do so by participating in a FiM FTC Spring Event. Registration for spring events is currently open. Visit the FIM FTC EVENTS site page for event dates/locations. The link to the spring event registration form is below.

• Spring Event Registration Form (link).