Last year my district asked me to apply for a grant that would provide several new technologies for classroom use. We received the grant. Now the IT department is refusing to install the software included in the award because it isn’t on the district’s 'approved' list. I'm ready to return the hardware and software and call it a day! What can I do?
Virtually all grant applications or acceptance notifications require an administrator’s signature, agreeing to the terms of the grant, prior to releasing funds or sending equipment. Before you throw in the towel, review the application and any paperwork that was sent when the grant was awarded. Identify the administrator who signed the agreements, and meet with that person to discuss the situation. Hopefully this will take care of the problem.
If not, you would need to contact the grantor and see what can be done about modifying the agreements. Ask the administrator who signed off to work with you. The bottom line is that your grant was awarded based upon the proposal submitted. If circumstances now make it impossible to implement your project as described, and if the grantor is not interested in a modified proposal, you may need to withdraw from the program and return the equipment and software.
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