Each year at its annual meeting, the board shall designate by resolution the name and location of the Iowa located financial depository institution or institutions to serve as the official school district depository or depositories.  The maximum deposit amount to be kept in the depository shall be stated in the resolution. The amount stated in the resolution must be for all depositories and include all of the school district's funds.

It shall be the responsibility of the board secretary to include the resolution in the minutes of the meeting.

 

Legal Reference:    Legal Reference:           Iowa Code §§ 279.33 (2013).

Cross Reference:    210.1    Annual Meeting

    206.4    Treasurer [or 206.3, Secretary-Treasurer]

    704.1    Local - State - Federal - Miscellaneous Revenue

Approved     1/10/72                  Reviewed     3-21-18                  Revised     4/09/01              

Policy 701.2 TRANSFER OF FUNDS

When the necessity for a fund has ceased to exist, the balance may be transferred to another fund or account by board resolution.  School district monies received without a designated purpose may be transferred in this manner.  School district monies received for a specific purpose or upon vote of the people may only be transferred, by board resolution when the purpose for which the monies were received has been completed.  Voter approval is required to transfer monies to the general fund from the capital projects fund and debt service fund.

If all requirements for district use of funds calculated under the teacher leadership supplement are met and funds remain unexpended and unobligated at the end of the fiscal year, the district may transfer all or a portion of remaining funds into the district’s flexibility account in accordance with law.

The district may choose to request approval from the School Budget Review Committee to transfer funds to make a program whole, prior to its elimination.

Temporary transfers (loans) of funds are permitted between funds but must be repaid to the originating fund, with interest, by Oct. 1 following the end of the fiscal year.

It is the responsibility of the board secretary to make recommendations to the board regarding transfers and to provide the documentation justifying the transfer.

Legal Reference:

Iowa Code §§ 24.21-.22; 257.10, 279.8; 279.42; 298A.

289 I.A.C. 6

Cross Reference:

701.3 Financial Records

703 Budget

704.2 Sale of Bonds

 

 Approved     1/10/72                  Reviewed     3-21-18                   Revised     11/15/2021        

Financial records of the school district are maintained in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) as required or modified by law.  School district monies are received and expended from the appropriate fund and/or account. The funds and accounts of the school district will include, but not be limited to:

Governmental fund type:

    ∙    General fund

    ∙    Special revenue fund

          --Management Levy fund

          --Public Education and Recreation Levy fund (PERL)

          --Student activity fund

    ∙    Capital projects fund

         --Physical Plant and Equipment Levy fund (PPEL)

         --Secure and Advanced Vision for Education (SAVE)

    ∙    Debt service fund

Proprietary fund type:

    ∙    Enterprise fund

         --School nutrition fund

         --Child care fund

    ∙    Internal service fund

Fiduciary funds:

    ∙    Trust 

         --Expendable trust funds

         --Nonexpendable trust funds

         --Pension trust funds

    ∙    Agency Funds

Account groups:

    ∙    General capital assets account group

    ∙    General long-term debt account group

The general fund is used primarily for the education program.  Special revenue funds are used to account for monies restricted to a specific use by law.  Capital projects funds are used to account for financial resources to acquire or construct major capital facilities (other than those of proprietary funds and trust funds) and to account for revenues from SAVE. A debt service fund is used to account for the accumulation of resources for, and the payment of, general long-term debt principal and interest.  Proprietary funds account for operations of the school district operated similar to private business, or they account for the costs of providing goods and services provided by one department to other departments on a cost reimbursement basis. Fiduciary funds are used to account for monies or assets held by the school district on behalf of, or in trust for, another entity.  The account groups are the accounting records for capital assets and long-term debt.

The board may establish other funds in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and may certify other taxes to be levied for the funds as provided by state law.  The status of each fund must be included in the annual report. 

It is the responsibility of the superintendent to implement this policy and bring necessary changes in the maintenance of the school district's financial records to the attention of the board.

NOTE: The list of funds above does not include the "Library levy fund," which is only available to one school district.  The school district eligible to levy the library levy must add this fund to its policy. 

NOTE: For additional information about school district fund structure, please see Chapter 9 of the “Uniform Administrative Procedures for Iowa School District and AEA Officials,” located on the “Uniform Administrative Procedures Manual” section of the Iowa Department of Education’s website. 

 

Legal Reference:    Iowa Code §§291; 298; 298A.

    281 I.A.C. 98

Cross Reference:    704    Revenue

                          705 Expenditures

Approved        4/9/01              Reviewed   3-21-18                     Reviewed         6/18/14             

The following relevant PK-12 public sector indicators will be provided to the Board annually to better understand the financial trends of the district.  These indicators will be an accurate depiction as of June 30th of the preceding fiscal year and will depict at a minimum of [3] years of data.  

• Total revenues and expenditures by fund and major sources; 

• Financial Solvency Ratio - assigned plus unassigned fund balances divided by total revenue minus AEA flow through;

• Unspent Authorized Budget Ratio - amount of maximum spending authority left at year end after deducting the general fund expenditures incurred during the year;

• Unspent Authorized Balance Ratio Net of Restricted Fund Balances (Categorical Fund Balances) - amount of maximum spending authority left at year end after deducting both the general fund expenditures incurred during the year and the total restricted fund balances (categorical fund balances) at year end;

• Enrollment Trend - funding follows the student so it is important to understand district enrollment numbers;

Staff costs as a percent of total general fund. 

Financial Projections

Five-year financial projections of the general fund will be prepared and updated annually. The general fund is the operating fund of the district where the majority of salaries and benefits are funded.  Projections will help the board determine sustainability of the annual operating budget and help make future budgetary decisions.

The District is committed to utilizing the following financial metrics in determining district financial goals:

1. Unspent Authorized Budget Ratio:  Maintain unspent authorized budget ratio within the [15-20%] target range.  The current year’s projected balance will be discussed with the Board before staffing and other spending decisions are finalized for the succeeding year.

2. Unspent Authorized Budget Net of Restricted Fund Balances (Categorical Balances): Maintain unspent authorized budget ratio net of restricted fund balances (categorical balances) within the [5] % target range. The district will attempt to spend the restricted (categorical) annual allocation in the year received to the extent possible.

3. Solvency Ratio: Maintain an unrestricted, uncommitted general fund balance within the 15-25% target range with [15] % being a minimum goal.  The current year’s projected balance will be discussed with the Board before establishing the succeeding year’s cash reserve levy and before staffing and other spending decisions are finalized.

4. The District will take reasonable steps to achieve a total general fund balance at least equal to its unspent authority.  This enables the District to cash flow its legal spending limit.

I.C. Iowa Code	Description
Iowa Code  § 257.31	Finance Program - Committee
Iowa Code  § 279.8	Directors - General Rules - Bonds of Employees
Iowa Code § 257.7	Authorized Expenditures

Approved  4/17/24          Reviewed                 Revised