County to return grant money meant to purchase simulators for STARS

An eighth-grade student on a tour of the STARS (Southeast Technical Academy for Rural Students) tries her hand on a trackhoe simulator. A grant awarded to purchase two simulators had to be returned by the county because parents of STARS students refused to complete paperwork that included family financial information. (STARS Facebook)

By Charlene Sims, info@linncountyjournal.com

MOUND CITY – At the request of the Southeast Kansas Regional Planning Center (SEKRPC) Executive Director Carey Spoon, the Linn County Commissioners voted to turn back the money the county had received from a community development block grant (CDBG) for the Linn County Job Training Grant for the Southeast Technical Academy for Rural Students (STARS) program.

The grant requirements could not be completed because STARS officials ran into an issue that area school officials face every year: Parents of students from low- to moderate-income families refused to fill out the necessary surveys that included personal questions on income. Schools across the area run into that same parental hesitancy about filling out applications for free and reduced-cost lunches.

On Monday, May 12, Spoon explained to the commission that the grant was for $100,000 with the county paying a match of $25,000. Most of the $25,000 would go to SEKRPC for the writing and administration of the grant. The $100,000 would have gone to buying simulators for the STARS program.

Spoon told the commissioners that no grant funds had been drawn down from this grant because one of the key regulations for the grant was not met. The regulation was that parents of the students attending the program would have to fill out income surveys to determine if 51 percent of those attending were low to moderate income. Spoon said that this is a key regulation for CDBG funding.

However, STARS officials were unable to get the signatures needed to complete that requirement.

Spoon said, “We’re turning it back because it needs to be turned back because with discussions with the state, we could not at this point say that the students that are currently enrolled in that program would be able to use those simulators.”

In a later phone interview, Spoon said that the proof of income forms would only have had to be filled out by the students attending at the time the simulators were purchased and showing that they were able to use them. Students coming into the program later could use the simulators without filling out the income forms.

The grant application process was started in March of 2023 and a public hearing was held on it in April 2023 at which time the motion was made to approve signing the papers and moving forward with the grant.

In late July 2023, the grant was awarded to Linn County and they proceeded with the signing of the contracts in August of 2023. At the September 2023 meeting, then Economic Director Jessica Hightower presented the CDBG Youth Job Training Grant check for $100,000.00 check to Jay Allen, the director of the STARS program.

At that time, Allen stated that Linn County was one of two counties in Southeast Kansas to receive the grant. 

At the October 2023 meeting, the commissioners discussed the simulators that needed to be purchased and signed paperwork to allow the county to make a Sole Source Purchase since only one company had the equipment needed by STARS. Apparently after this, it was determined that the income sheets needed to be completed before the equipment could be purchased.

In an interview on Thursday, May 15, Allen said that the STARS staff was unable to persuade parents of the students to complete the paperwork. He said he told SEKRPC that having parents of the students complete papers with that kind of financial information would be very difficult.

Allen said he looked at different ways they might be able to meet grant requirements, including using free and reduced lunch information. But there was no alternative. He said that requests for information from parents was sent out twice, but none were returned.

When the grant was awarded, the STARS program had 91 students enrolled in all of the classes there. Allen said when it became apparent that the school would be unable to get surveys from 51% of those students, the decision was made to limit the number of families surveyed to only the 13 students who would be training on the simulators.

Out of the 13 forms sent out, only five were returned, short of the seven needed to comply with the grant, he said.

In the phone interview with Spoon, when asked if there was a specific area where this process broke down, she said that while the SEKRPC staff had been in touch with Allen during 2024, she thought it was a real reluctance of parents to fill out the income forms that asked for pretty private information. She said that the SEKRPC staff had worked with the Kansas Department of Commerce to modify the form to be less invasive. 

While she just recently became executive director at SEKRPC, she said that it might have been possible to encourage parents to fill out the income forms if more of the local people were involved or maybe if the SEKRPC staff held an open house to explain the importance of the forms and help parents with them. 

But at the meeting on Monday, Commissioner Alison Hamilton seemed to place the blame directly on Allen.

Hamilton said, “I feel like we need to bring him in here. He, absolutely, easily could have done the surveys.”

Johnson said he understood that he had to get the people, the parents, and the students there involved in order to fill the paperwork out. Is that right?

Hightower said that was correct.

Hamilton said she was not in favor of making a motion to turn back the money.

“Just to cancel the grant?” asked Hightower.

“We’ve got to cancel the grant,” said Johnson.

Linn County Economic Development Director Chasity Ware said that there was no choice the grant had to be cancelled.

Hamilton continued, “I think we need to bring it to his attention because of an error that now the county is out $125,000 to help the STARS program essentially, correct?”

Hightower said that Allen is aware because he’s the one who wasn’t able to get the verifications, correct?

Hamilton said, “When I first came in remember the check that we were supposed to cut to the STARS program?”

Hightower answered yes.

She continued, “We never approved it. Is that still the case?”

Hightower, who is the county’s representative on the STARS board answered, “They haven’t requested it again or anything that way. At the last STARS board meeting, we talked about that. They‘re still trying to get their memorandum of understanding (MOU) finished up with Fort Scott and are in kind of limbo from that perspective.”

Discussion was then held on the issue that while Fort Scott Community College collected tuition and state aid for the students at STARS, they were only giving a small portion of that to the STARS program.

“Is it true that Fort Scott is not giving the stars program the amount of money it should have been receiving?” asked Johnson.

Hightower replied, “There’s been very little support from Fort Scott.”

Johnson said if they had been receiving what Fort Scott should have paid them maybe they would not have needed as much.

“They have to stay with Fort Scott at this time. Fort Scott would have to release them and Fort Scott is not willing to release them. They still want their state aid money coming in from that. They will not be requesting those funds from us until they have that MOU and a clear direction going forward,” said Hightower.

Discussion was held on the money that Linn County had budgeted for the STARS program, how it was budgeted and what will happen to that money. The commissioners asked County Clerk Danielle Souza to look into that and bring that information to them.

County Counselor Jacklyn Paletta said she would also check on that.

The commissioners approved a motion that the money be turned back to the state’s  CDBG grant funds.

Paletta asked Spoon, Can you please tell us the ramificartons regarding future potential grants in light of having to turn this money back? Does this limit the county’s ability to receive this grant funding in the future?”

Spoon replied, “There would be some caveats if the county were to apply for this specific program again on behalf of the STARS program. But as far as anything else within the CDBG different funding programs no there’s no repercussions for this.”

In the phone interview, Spoon repeated that there would have to be issues looked at if the county applied for the same grant again for STARS, but she also added that this grant was one that the state of Kansas really had wanted to fund. She also said that she did not believe it would affect other CDBG grants from the state.

Hamilton said, “I would like to know from the clerk next week if we are required to release that check to them? Are we required to moving forward if it is a mill?                                                

I want to know all the information with the mill. If we voted prior to me coming in to give that tax money through the mill to the STARS program? Are we required? When can we end that? How do we end it?”

“I’ll look into it and have an answer for you,” said Paletta.