Iowa K-12 Public School Finance Larry Sigel, Partner Iowa School Finance Information Services 1201 63rd St. Des Moines, IA 50311 (515) 251-5970 www.iowaschoolfinance.com

Overview Funds Revenues Expenditures Spending Authority Financial Health 2

General Fund Basic Principles: Student driven, amount per student set by legislature. Schools are budget limited, not rate limited. Doubling property value = property tax rate falls – no more $’s to spend. Tax rate driven by formula more than district actions. District can only spend funds on allowable purposes.

Funding Sources School districts have restricted funding sources - not all funds can be spent on anything the district decides. Where does this restriction come from? State/federal law In conjunction with Dillon’s rule: “…municipal governments only have the powers that are expressly granted to them by the state legislature, those that are necessarily implied from that grant of power, and those that are essential and indispensable to the municipality's existence and functioning.” But, there’s a new wrinkle….

HF 573 Home Rule The bill grants “school districts/school board any broad and implied powers not inconsistent with the laws of the general assembly, or inconsistent with Administrative Rules, related to the operation, control and supervision of their public schools.” Specifically excludes: The power to levy any tax unless expressly authorized by the Legislature. Prohibits district’s from charging mandatory student fees not authorized by law, District may not adopt a policy that would unreasonably interfere with the duties of a local, state or federal law enforcement agency. If the authority of a school district conflicts with the authority of a municipal corporation, county, or joint county-municipal corporation government, the latter shall prevail within its jurisdiction. States that Iowa Code chapters relating to school boards and districts “shall be liberally construed to effectuate the purposes of this bill”.

Funding Sources School districts have restricted funding sources - not all funds can be spent on anything the district decides. State and federal law specifies what are allowable expenditures – even from within the General Fund. Administrative Rules can further clarify state Code.

Funds Funds Funding Sources Activity Nutrition Trust & Agency Other General Fund Management PPEL Capital Projects Debt Service PERL Child Care

Finance Responsibilities of State Agencies Department of Education Department of Management Department of Revenue Oversight of school district finances Certified Budgets Sales Taxes (including payments) School Budget Review Committee Certification of Property Taxes Income Surtaxes (PPEL and ISL) Accreditation / Phase 2 Audit Property Valuations Payments to local districts (except Sales and Income Surtaxes) Aid and Levy Worksheet (calculation of State Aid and Property Taxes) educateiowa.gov www.dom.state.ia.us www.iowagov/tax

Funding Sources

General Fund Very important concept: Spending Authority State controls maximum amount of district spending Why? Equity – basic principle is that every child should receive the same amount of funding – no matter where they live

District must account for two things in their General Fund: Restriction of Spending Authority only applies to the General Fund – all other funds allow spending if you have the cash to spend District must account for two things in their General Fund: Fund Balance (cash) Spending Authority (credit card limit)

General Fund Limit on spending is the amount of Spending Authority a district has not the amount of cash or fund balance Total Spending Authority for a year is: Current year Spending Authority + Previous year’s surplus Spending Authority = Total Spending Authority

General Fund Reconciling two concepts: Fund Balance and Unspent Budget Authority Fund Balance – if the district ceased to exist at the conclusion of the fiscal year – and took in all funds it was owed and paid all bills it owed – what would be left over Corollary to Fund Balance from Spending Authority perspective: Unspent Budget Authority (Unspent Balance)

General Fund Where does Spending Authority come from? Basic formula: # of children x a cost per child = total current year Spending Authority. # of children is a year behind – always use prior year count – this October’s number = the number used for next year’s budget Cost per child is set by the Iowa Legislature by setting State Supplementary Assistance Rate (formerly Allowable Growth) Spending Authority is then funded by a combination of State Aid and Property Taxes

Permutations of Spending Authority and Fund Balance Negative Positive Situation 1 Situation 2 Situation 3 Situation 4 Unspent Budget Authority Ending Fund Balance Understanding Fund Balance and Unspent Budget Authority

Weighting Counts students at a value greater than 1 then multiply by credit card limit to provide additional funds. Special Education: 0.72 1.21 2.74 English Language Learner (ELL) 0.22 (4 years with state funding+ 1 add’l year) All weightings in addition to 1.0 for regular education.

General Fund So what’s the big deal with Spending Authority? It is illegal for a school district to exceed it’s total spending authority Ever heard of Russell or Farragut School District? Phase II Financial Viability Audit The State Board of Education has the ability to close a school district for no other reason than financial unviability (not educational reasons)

General Fund So how do we pay for the Spending Authority in the General Fund? Three sources: Uniform Levy - $5.40 property tax levy (first layer) State Supplemental Aid – backfills up to 87.5% of the cost per pupil (credit card limit) Additional Levy – property tax levy that funds the last 12.5% of the cost per pupil (no rate limit – adjusts automatically to fund as much as needed)

Financing the General Fund $6,664 $6,664 $6,664 Additional Levy $833 $833 $833 87.5% ----------------------------------------------------------------- $53 $4,000 State Aid $4,978 $5,778 $1,831 Uniform Levy $853 Property Poorest Average Valuation Property Richest

Property Valuation Characteristics…

…Impact Property Tax Rates

Spending Authority

Fund Balance Documents Certified Budget Monthly Financials Certified Annual Report (CAR) Audit

Optional Sources of Authority in the General Fund Instructional Support Levy (ISL) First question: How much do we want to increase (up to 10% of credit card limit)? How do we fund it (property taxes or income surtax)? Voter approval – up to 10 years Board approval – up to 5 years

Optional Sources of Authority in the General Fund Dropout Prevention Maximum 5% of Regular Program District Cost Used for services to dropouts or those at-risk of dropping out. Effectively funded by all property tax DoP/At-risk Expansion: Adds counselors to list of staff whose time may be prorated for providing services to at-risk/dropout prevention eligible students, allows DOP funds to be spent on grade level, school wide or district wide prevention that serves students not necessarily eligible for DoP and eliminates the 5% cap for those services, gives the district authority to designate the amount of time/salary/benefits for each such prorated staff position as part of the program plan submitted to DE. HF 564, 2017 GA

Budget Guarantee Mechanism to postpone the impact of enrollment changes by one year If this year’s Regular Program District Cost (Kids x Credit Card Limit) is less than 101% of last year’s RPDC, the district receives and amount of spending authority equal to get the district to 1% growth Amount is all property tax Because the following year’s calculation does not contain any budget guarantee authority, the loss the following year is equal to what would have been for the current year

On Time Funding Because enrollment figure for budgets is always a year behind, what happens when more kids show up this year than last? District’s are eligible to receive spending authority for those pupils Provides an extra year of spending authority for those pupils that we’re new this year Also can receive authority for students who were new to the district but open- enrolled out before attending school in your district

General Fund Where does the money go? 80% of the district’s funds go to pay for staff Remainder is spent on curriculum, utilities, professional development, and costs of transportation (fuel and salaries, usually not buses) Funds are to be used for the educational program not physical infrastructure.

Cash Reserve Levy Only for the General Fund! Two sub levies: Regular cash reserve levy – general cash reserve for the operation of the district School Budget Review Committee (SBRC) cash reserve levy – used to fund spending authority granted by SBRC (primarily special education deficits and on-time funding) No rate limit on the levy – but a district is limited to levying the Cash Reserve Levy if fund balance exceeds 20% Cash Reserve Levy does not create spending authority, it only gives the funds to spend it (i.e., you cannot just levy your way out of a spending authority problem)

Transition to Non General Fund Sources Step across the great divide Most of the following funding sources cannot be used in General Fund and vice versa Might have money in one of these sources but cannot use to offset a General Fund shortfall

Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) Used for buildings, buses, equipment and technology – cannot be spent on staff Two levies: Board-approved $0.33 cents per thousand – exclusively property tax Voter-approved – maximum equivalent of $1.34 per thousand of property tax. May be funded by property tax or income surtax or a combination. Maximum 10 years – 50% + 1 vote Can borrow against property tax portion of voter-approved. Cannot borrow against the board-approved PPEL levy.

Debt Service For buildings/grounds only Voter approved – think “bond issue” 60% + 1 to approve All property tax – maximum $4.05 per thousand 20 year maximum duration Until State Penny, was the primary way we build schools in Iowa

Sales Taxes Started out as local option sales tax in early 1990’s By 2004 all counties had passed Converted to “State Penny for School Infrastructure” July 1, 2008 Still requires a district vote on a Revenue Purpose Statement Can be used for buildings/grounds, PPEL purposes, and PERL purposes (still depends on language you have in place in your district) – cannot be used for staff costs Expires 12/31/2029

Property tax levy to fund certain costs in the district Management Levy Property tax levy to fund certain costs in the district Property insurance, liability insurance and workers’ compensation Early retirement benefits Judgments against the district (lose court case) Not rate limited, purpose limited Set by school board action as part of district budget

Public Education and Recreation Levy Funded all by property tax Voter approved 50% +1 vote (no expiration) Maximum levy rate of $0.135 per thousand Funds for public playgrounds and recreation facilities and community education Governed by Ch. 300 and Ch. 276 of the Code of Iowa

Financial Health Focus primarily on General Fund Why? That’s where we pay for educational program Largest portion of a school’s expenditures Biggest risk Focus more on Spending Authority than Fund Balance – why? Simple, Negative Spending Authority can get you closed – Negative Fund Balance can be solved locally

Questions? Do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or comments! Larry Sigel, Partner Iowa School Finance Information Services (ISFIS) larry.sigel@isfis.net 515-251-5970 515-490-9951 (cell) © ISFIS 2009-2017