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Anticipation Warrants. These short-term instruments
indicate budgetary stress and lack of operating funds
in the later part of the fiscal year.
Also on the Financial Information page are the
district’s bonded debt limit and existing bonded debt.
The bonded debt limit is 13.8 percent of a unit
district’s current EAV and 6.9 percent for dual
districts. The difference between the bonded debt
limit and the current outstanding debt is called the
“bond margin.” This important number indicates the
district’s existing bonded debt left unutilized for future
bond sales.
The revenue sections of the AFR are completed
by fund with revenues listed for each fund, local,
state, or federal. The Education Fund is by far the
depository for the largest amount of revenues for a
district including all sources of revenue.
The expenditure portion of the AFR is listed by
expenditure purpose (salaries, fringe benefits,
purchased services, etc.). This is a rather detailed
listing of the purposes for the expenditures by fund.
Also listed in the expenditure section on the far right
side of the AFR is the amount budgeted for each
expense, giving you a quick summary of how your
initial budget compared with actual expenditures for
the past year.
Also included at the end of the AFR are
calculations made annually by the auditors, giving
you important comparative information on the cost to
educate a student in that district for that year. These
numbers are the Per Capita Tuition Charge and the
Operating Expense Per Pupil. They are relatively
similar but not the same. The Operating Expense
Per Pupil includes capital expenditures made by the
district in that calculation; the Per Capita Tuition
number does not include capital expenses. These
numbers represent the actual amounts spent by a
district to educate a student for the previous year.
In looking at the comparison of the two
documents, there is an assumption that the budget is
the key document for determining the fiscal health of
a school district when, in reality, the AFR is the key
document. The Illinois State Board of Education
archives both of these documents for all school
districts for past years. Therefore, it is possible for
educators to recover and analyze these documents
for financial information about the district.
In the headline to this article, I allude to the
relative importance of these district documents for the
accurate picture of a district’s fiscal health. The AFR
presents accurate information on actual revenues
and expenditures where the budget is only compiled
with estimates of district revenue and expenditures.
When assessing the district’s health, or to graphically
portray this to boards or district citizens, the AFR is
the document to present and analyze for an accurate
picture of district financial health. An accurate
understanding of the information contained in the
AFR is crucial for superintendents trying to explain
school finance to boards and citizens.
(Continued from page 26)
2014-2015 Moon Scholarship Program
Are you a superintendent or an aspiring superintendent? Are you pursuing graduate study
to become the best superintendent you can be? Do you know there are scholarships
available through IASA to help offset the costs of your coursework?
Established in 1993 in memory of Dr. James V. Moon, a former superintendent at Morton
High School District, the James V. and Dorothy B. Moon Scholarship program is committed
to improving the education and qualifications of school administrators. Since its inception,
80 scholarships totaling nearly $174,199.78 have been awarded to current or aspiring superintendents.
Practicing school administrators in Illinois qualify if they are college graduates pursuing an advanced degree in
educational administration at an accredited college or university. Several scholarships ($2,500 minimum
each) are awarded each year and are paid directly to the college or university to cover tuition, fees and/or
textbook expenses.
To obtain more information on the application and awards process, clic
r
contact Cherry Middleton, IASA Executive Secretary/Office Manager, at 217/753-2213
or email at
This year’s application deadline is Friday, January 2, 2015.
