Overview
As part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, passed on March 27, 2020, the Governor’s office received $4,488,802 through the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) fund. The Governor’s office determined that it would use the funds to support regional career technical education (CTE) centers across the state and that the AOE would administer grants to support COVID-19 response efforts including the instructional technology, and infrastructure needs of CTE centers. Following the US Department of Education requirement to prioritize these funds to those CTE centers which have been 'most significantly impacted by coronavirus,' AOE has determined allocations based on poverty and broadband access.
The GEER application became available on the Grant Management System (GMS) on October 21, 2020 and will close on November 23, 2020. This webpage will provide information and resources for GEER applicants including a summary overview of the grant program, allowable uses, key dates and allocations.
Questions regarding the GEER fund should be directed to Ruth Durkee at aoe.geerapplication@vermont.gov.
Key Dates
- July 1, 2020—Period of Performance Begins.
- October 21, 2020—Application Opens
- November 23, 2020—Applications Due
- March 20, 2021—Grant Amendments Due
- September 30, 2022—Close of the Period of Performance
- November 30, 2022—Final AOE 3.0 due to AOE
The GEER funds allocated to your CTE center must be budgeted in an approved award prior to April 29, 2021. Applicants must submit their GEER grant amendments by March 20, 2021. Applicants will permanently lose access to allocated funds that have not been budgeted in an approved Grant Award and those funds will be returned to the Federal Government. If you have any questions on this critical component to GEER funding, please contact John Leu.
Guidance
Archived Guidance
The below guidance related to GEER I has been archived for reference.
- Memo: GEER Fund Application for CTE Centers (Oct. 21, 2020)
Application
All district administrators (superintendents) and CTE Directors have permissions in the GMS to create and edit the application. If desired, a district administrator can delegate the ability to create and edit the application to additional staff, by assigning the role "leaPerkins" to any staff members with a GMS account. See the GMS login page's Training section for the four page instructions and the User Management for District Administrators training video to learn how to assign this role. Note that, as with all other grant applications, only the district administrator can agree to assurances and do the final submission to the Agency of Education.
GEER I FY 22 Resource Materials
- Memo: Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund FY 2022 Annual Performance Report
- GEER 1 FY 22 Webinar Slide Deck
- GEER 1 FY 22 Accounting Guide
- GEER 1 FY 22 Webinar