Leadership Matters September 2014

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.

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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

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, click here or contact Cherry Middleton, IASA Executive Secretary/Office Manager, at 217/753-2213 or email at cmiddleton@iasaedu.org .

This year’s application deadline is Friday, January 2, 2015.

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