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By Matt Willoughby | North Carolina Civitas Institute
RALEIGH — Organizations receiving state and federal grants to prevent students from dropping out of school can report how they spent the money in three tweets or about a total of 500 words, according to documents obtained by the Civitas Institute.
The character limit was even smaller, said Christine Mackey, spokeswoman for the Office of State Management and Budget, which follows the tweets as it tracks spending.
“The limit is intended to allow for sufficient space to include all required information while also encouraging answers that are concise and to the point,” Mackey wrote in an email.
The dropout prevention grants are prime examples of the lack of detail and the vagueness of grant reports. The Civitas Institute obtained the reports for the $13 million in grants awarded to 83 organizations in 2009.
Read the complete story at the Civitas Institute.
