School Finance update

4 Pages·2003·0.19 MB·English

by  Montana.Office of Public Instruction.School Budgeting and Accounting Division

November 2003
CHOOL FINANCE UPDATE
A Monthly Newsletter Published by the School Finance Division

Montana Office of Public Instruction Phone [phone] Linda McCulloch, State Superintendent
Box 202501 FAX [phone]
Helena, MT 59620-2501 http:\\www.opi.state.mt.us
This monthly newsletter is emailed to school districts, county superintendents, county treasurers, and auditors. The newsletter is intended to
reach all district staff involved in budgeting, accounting, enrollment, special education funding, and federal programs. Please forward this infor-
mation to all interested parties. Got suggestions for items to include here? We'd love to hear from you!
Maintenance Of Effort "Check-Up" and must be deposited in the Technology
This Month Fund (28) using revenue account 4650 –
Miscellaneous Federal Grants/Revenue

from OPI and expenditure program
By December 1, OPI
Need More Info
465. Districts may not transfer these funds
will email notices to
About Maintenance
to another fund for expenditure. The Tech-
each district
of Effort (MOE)?
nology fund is a budgeted fund so districts
concerning the status

that intend to spend more in FY2004 than
of maintenance of
Look for Appendix C and
the amount currently budgeted for that fund
effort (MOE) for Title D in the OPI Grants Hand-
I and other Title book! will need to adopt a budget amendment. Al-
ternatively, the additional funds may be held
programs, IDEA Part
in reserve and budgeted for expenditure in
B and Preschool, and possible special ed
FY2005 or beyond.
funding reversions. This process requires y-

our immediate attention to correct any
The funds are being distributed to districts
FY2002-03 Trustees' Financial Summary
under the provisions of MCA sections 20-9-
(TFS) reporting errors that might have
533 and 20-9-534 and can be used for the
caused MOE or reversion problems.
purchase, rental, repair, maintenance, and

depreciation of technological equipment in-
Deadline for corrections is December 20,
cluding computers and computer network
2003, so prompt action is very important.
access, and for associated technical training
For more info, contact Jim Oberembt at 444-
for school district personnel. A spreadsheet
1257 or [email protected].
showing the amount of each district’s pay-

ment is posted on the OPI web site at
Technology Funds
http://www.opi.state.mt.us/PDF

/SchoolFinance/TechFund.pdf.
On November 20, Governor Martz an-
For more info, contact Bonnie
nounced the distribution of $1.75 million in
Maze at [email protected] or
funding for district technology programs.
444-3249, or Nancy Hall at
The new money for schools comes from the
[email protected] or 444-9852.
original $73 million the federal government

sent to Montana as part of federal tax cut
legislation. Questions or comments about this newsletter?
Contact Joan Anderson at [phone] or
These funds will be distributed to schools [email protected].
along with the December BASE aid payment
Office of Public Instruction November 2003 Page 1 of 4
MASBO New Clerks' Workshop for School Block Grant deposits and 3445
Held for Combined Block Grants. Block Grant
money is not restricted to a particular pur-

pose. Coops do not receive the School
The Montana Association of School Busi-
Block Grants.
ness Officials (MASBO) held a 2-day train-

ing session for new (and almost new) clerks.
Also in November, OPI will distribute the
The session, held in Helena on November
County Retirement (HB124) Block Grants.
13 and 14, drew about 40 Clerks, County
Counties receive 50% in this payment and
Superintendents, County Treasurers, and
will receive the remainder in May 2004. For
other staff. MASBO representatives, includ-
more info, contact Bonnie Maze at (406)
ing Betty Brumwell (Dutton K-12), Kathy
444-3249 or [email protected].
Preeshl (K-G), Gracie Green (Roundup),

and Gary Craft (Jefferson HS) were pre-
senters. Discussions covered numerous ba- 2004 Elections Calendar—Ready!
sic and advanced topics -- payroll, elections,
paying the bills, and reconciling the ac- The calendar for the May 4,
counts, to name a few. 2004 trustee and general
fund election has been up-
Another session is tentatively planned for dated and is posted at the
April 2004. MASBO will announce registra- following website:
tion later this winter. http://www.opi.state.mt.us/PDF/SchoolFi-
nance/forms/2004ElectionCal.pdf.
Need more information about elections?
Entitlements for FY05
Elem High School Contact Mike Waterman at [phone]
Basic $ 19,859 $220,646 or [email protected].
Per-ANB $ 4,031 $ 5,371

Impact Aid Workshop Planned
Excel Spreadsheets Coming
in December OPI will host an Impact Aid workshop in
Lewistown at the Yogo Inn on Thursday,
December 18 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Kerry
OPI plans to post Excel spreadsheets for
Wingell of the U.S. Dept of Education, Im-
FY05 general fund budget estimates during
pact Aid Program, will be the guest speaker
December. We will send a message by offi-
and will cover an overview of the Impact Aid
cial OPI mail when the spreadsheets are
Program laws and information about com-
posted.
pleting the 2004 Impact Aid Application. For

more information, contact Tal Redpath at
State School Block Grants and
[phone] or [email protected].
Combined Block Grants Distributed

OPI will distribute 70% of the FY 2003-04
Link to GASB 34
School Block Grants (HB124) and Com-
Spreadsheet
bined Block Grants (SB424) to school dis-
tricts in November. Payments are deposited
in funds according to the FY 2003-04 Final The Association of School
Budgets. The remaining 30% will be distrib- Business Officials Interna-
uted in May 2004. The revenue code is 3444 tional (ASBO) recently
awarded the group's prestigious Pinnacle
Office of Public Instruction November 2003 Page 2 of 4
Award to Gregory Holbrook, Business Man- A-133 "Federal" Audit Reminder
ager for the Alpine School District in Ameri-
can Fork, UT, for his creation of a useful Ex-
A-133 audits for FY03
cel spreadsheet to assist school districts in
are to be completed and
preparing financial statements under GASB
reported to the Depart-
34.
ment of Administration

and the OPI by March
GASB 34 is a new standard format for au-
31, 2004. If you don't
dited financial statements and it applies to
have your audit contract completed, please
some districts in FY03 and all Montana
get it in soon. Remember: "Whenever bid-
school districts effective for audits of FY04.
ding is required, the contract must be

awarded to the lowest responsible bidder,
Montana Clerks/Business Managers might
except that all bids may be rejected." (20-9-
find that with some adjustments, this could
205(5), MCA)
be a useful tool. Here is a website which will

lead to a GASB 34 template for school dis-
For more information about audits, contact
tricts.
Mike Waterman at [phone] or
http://asbointl.org/committeedirectory/details
[email protected].
.asp?i=7

School Finance Forms and
If you have questions about GASB 34,
Publications on Internet
please contact Denise Ulberg at 444-0783
Need an attendance agreement/tuition
or [email protected].
form? Transportation forms? Elections cal-

endar? General information about school
Are You Receiving OPI
budgeting and accounting? See the School
"Official Email"?
Finance area of the OPI website for forms

and publications at:
OPI now sends "Official Email" to districts
http://
and county superintendents rather than
www.opi.state.mt.us/schoolfinance/forms.ht
sending mass mailings. We email messages
ml
to unique METNET mailboxes for each
Let us know if you are looking for a par-
school district and county.
ticular form, and we'll do our best to pro-

vide it electronically!
OPI can set the email to forward a copy to

any email address you use. If you prefer,
Coding Medicaid Payments
you can view a complete list of OPI "Official
Deposit Medicaid receipts in Miscellaneous
Email" messages at:
Programs Fund 15 under a separate project
http://www.metnet.state.mt.us/Official_Mail.
reporter code. Code receipts for regular
Anyone with Internet access can read the
School Based Services (SBS) using revenue
messages. Set the address as a "favorite"
sources 3351-3355. This payment will be
on your Internet browser for fast, easy ac-
reimbursements for services such as physi-
cess.
cal therapy, speech therapy, etc. Code re-
Need help? Contact Nica Carte at (406)
ceipts for the new Comprehensive School
444-4401 or [email protected].
and Community Treatment Services pro-

Plan NOW!
gram (CSCT) using revenue source 3356.

2nd Semester Bus Inspections
Code expenditures using expenditure pro-
For December 2003 and January 2004
gram 100 regular education services or 280
Inspections must be passed by Jan. 31, 2004, to receive

full funding for second semester.
Office of Public Instruction November 2003 Page 3 of 4
special education services. School districts tion about elections? Contact Mike Waterman at
do not have to maintain effort on Medicaid [phone] or [email protected].
funds. Call Jim Oberembt at 444-1257 or CFDA Numbers for Federal Grants: http://
www.opi.state.mt.us/FederalPrograms/handboo
email him at [email protected] if you
k.html (Appendix F of the OPI State and Fed-
have any questions.
eral Grants Handbook)

Fill-In Forms Provided by MASBO
Budget Amendment
If your enrollment in-
Packet: OPI offers a creased more than 6%
Several fill-in forms (TR-1, TR-4, grant packet of information about over the average en-
cash request forms) are available on the the budget amendment rollment in SY 2002-03,
MASBO website at process for school districts: your district may be eli-
http://www.opi.state.mt.us/ gible for additional state
http://www.masbo.com. Special thanks to
pdf/schoolfinance/forms/20 funding.
MASBO's Roger Heimbegner, who devel-
02bapacket.pdf
oped the forms!

Useful Websites
Montana Codes Annotated (MCA) Online:
http://www.opi.state.mt.s/masterMCASearch.htm
List of all Official OPI E-
Mails:
http://www.metnet.state.mt.
us/Official_Mail In case you missed it…..
The 2003 Montana School Law Books
OPI's GASB 34 Web
have arrived!!

Page:
OPI is now shipping to schools
http://www.opi.state.mt.us/schoolfinance/gasb34
who have pre-ordered. Books
.html.
can be purchased for $10 by filling

out the order form located at:
OPI's "Get Answers" searchable databases:
http://www.opi.state.mt.us/pdf/legaldivision/
http://data.opi.state.mt.us/scripts/rightnow.cfg/ph
schoollaworderform.pdf
p.exe/enduser/std_alp.php

Bus Safety and Driver Training Videos:
Coming next month…..
http://www.opi.state.mt.us/pdf/pupiltransport/Trai

ningVideos.pdf
OPI is currently updating the School Ac-

School Finance forms and publications: counting Manual and plans to post it
http:// electronically in December.
www.opi.state.mt.us/schoolfinance/forms.html

FP-14 Student Attendance Agreement
OPI School Finance Division Staff
http://www.opi.state.mt.us/PDF/SchoolFinance/f
Joan Anderson [email protected]
orms/FP14.pdf
Nica Carte [email protected]
FP-14A Special Tuition Rates (used with FP-
Bonnie Maze [email protected]
14)
Jim Oberembt [email protected]
http://www.opi.state.mt.us/PDF/SchoolFinance/T
Tal Redpath [email protected]
uition/SpecTuitRates.pdf
Nancy Hall [email protected]

Denise Ulberg [email protected]
2004 Elections Calendar:
Mike Waterman [email protected]
http://www.opi.state.mt.us/PDF/SchoolFinance/f
Maxine Mougeot [email protected]
orms/2004ElectionCal.pdf . Need more informa-
Office of Public Instruction November 2003 Page 4 of 4