School Financial Services Team Newsletter Welcome to the first School Financial Services Team (SFS) Finance Bulletin.
District administrators will now receive all future general distribution paper mailings from the finance team in this format. It is our hope that this format improves the readability of content and we invite your feedback on this change.
Bulletins will be posted to the SFS Team's "Late Breaking News" web page located directly at http://www2.dpi.state.wi.us/SFSrss/break.aspx as well as under our left hand scan bar "Mailings" link. Current subscribers to the finance team's listserve will receive notification and access to bulletin information also.
Additionally, based upon district administrators' e-mail addresses on file at the department, notice of these bulletins will also be sent via e-mail to you. Should you wish to not receive this bulletin electronically, you can unsubscribe in a paragraph at the end of the e-mail message.
We believe there are a number of advantages to the electronic version of the bulletin versus the paper copy:
- First, the electronic version has internet links that will provide you with additional detailed information that the paper copy does not. For example, the "Calendar of Events" will identify important dates. The date text under the calendar will have internet links to more information specific to that subject.
- Second, you will note an envelope icon in some of the bulletin paragraphs. By clicking on the icon you will be able by e-mail to forward that section of the bulletin to district staff or to whomever you choose. This should help you route bulletin information to appropriate district staff.
- Third, there will be a "print page(s) in pdf" option located under the title of the bulletin. Of course, you will also be able to easily save an electronic copy of bulletins to your electronic file directory.
It is the intent of the finance team to continue to explore options that increase the functionality of the electronic version of the bulletin. Please feel free to contact me by e-mail at: david.carlson@dpi.wi.gov or by telephone at (608) 266-6968 should you have questions or concerns.
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Inside This Issue | 1 | New School Financial Services Team Newsletter | 2 | January Pupil Count Report – PI 1563 Information | 3 | Districts With Required 2008-2009 Membership Audits | 3
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4 | School Days and Hours of Instruction
Common School Fund
Transportation Aid Payment
2008-2009 Budget Report Amendments |
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January Pupil Count Report - PI 1563 Information
Please route the following information to the individual(s) who completes the PI 1563 January Pupil Count Report for your district. The pupil count date is Friday, January 9 and the report is due Monday, January 26.
The PI 1563 Internet Pupil Count Report is accessed through the Reporting Portal link on the School Financial Services Team website located at http://dpi.wi.gov/sfs/index.html. Pupil count report instructions and a spreadsheet are again available under the "Membership Report" link on the left-hand scan bar or directly at http://dpi.wi.gov/sfs/doc/guidelinesforcounting.doc and http://dpi.wi.gov/sfs/xls/pi1563_worksheet.xls.
Again for 2008-09 school year: Districts will be required to document a reconciliation process for membership changes from the September count date to the January count date. Information about this requirement is available as a webcast located on the team's website under "Presentations" or directly at http://dpi.wi.gov/sfs/presentations.html It is entitled, "PI 1563 September/January Pupil Count Reconciliation Webcast." The pupil count reconciliation worksheet is available under "Membership Report" link on the left hand scan bar or directly at http://dpi.wi.gov/sfs/membrpt2.html.
Districts that need to amend their pupil count after January 26 will do so by one of two ways:
- If your district has a membership audit, simply go into the reporting portal and make the changes. The auditor will verify any changes upon completion of the audit.
- If your district does not have a membership audit, send an email to dpisfsreports@dpi.wi.gov requesting the finance team to open the portal. The district will then be advised via an e-mail response when the portal will be open for revisions. Contact Janette Gosdeck, School Financial Services Team, at 608-267-9218 or by e-mail at janette.gosdeck@dpi.wi.gov should you have questions.
If your district is unable to hold school on January 9, a request for an alternative pupil count date must be submitted to the State Superintendent (s. 121.05(3), Wis. Stats.). Address your request to Debbie Gaffney Dilley, School Financial Services Team, by e-mail at debra.gaffney-dilley@dpi.wi.gov . Please specify the alternative date that you are requesting. In most circumstances, the date should be either the Thursday before or the Monday after the Friday count date.
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DISTRICTS WITH REQUIRED 2008-2009 MEMBERSHIP AUDITS
The state superintendent is required annually to select at least 25 percent of all school districts for a membership audit per
s. 115.28(18), Wis. Stats. Selected district administrators and those districts' audit firms will receive notification of the required audit via e-mail on Thursday, January 29, 2009. There will be no paper mail notification.
Additionally, a listing of districts with required membership audits will be posted to the team's website under "Audit/Auditor Info" on the left hand scan bar of the team's home web page and under "Late Breaking Information" located at: http://dpi.wi.gov/sfs/break.html. Subscribers of the finance team's listserve will also be notified of the district list.
The membership audit is due at the department no later than May 1, 2009. No extensions to this date can be granted as 2008-2009 membership is a factor in determining compliance with the 2008-2009 revenue limits.
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School Days and Hours of Instruction
Each year the department receives a number of inquiries regarding the statutorily required 180 day calendar, the hours of instruction, inclement weather days, and parent-teacher conference days. The following is a selected sampling of the pertinent statutes that apply to school days and hours of instruction. They are provided to give guidance to school district calendar development.
115.01 (10) SCHOOL DAY. (a) School days are days on which school is actually taught and the following days on which school is not taught:
- Days on which school is closed by order of the school district administrator because of inclement weather and days on which parent-teacher conferences are held, not to exceed 5 days during the school term.
- Days on which school is closed by order of a local health officer, as defined in s. 250.01(5), Wis. Stats.
- Not to exceed 5 Saturdays may be counted as school days in any school year when school is taught thereon with the consent of the school board.
If parent-teacher conferences are held in the evening of a day on which students attend for all or part of the day, the day may be counted as only one day toward the 180 day requirement.
121.02(1)(f) Each school board shall: 1. Schedule at least 180 school days annually, less any days during which the state superintendent determines that school is not held or educational standards are not maintained as the result of a strike by school district employees.
121.02(1)(f) Each school board shall: 2. Annually, schedule at least 437 hours of direct pupil instruction in kindergarten, at least 1,050 hours of direct pupil instruction in grades 1 to 6 and at least 1,137 hours of direct pupil instruction in grades 7 to 12. Scheduled hours under this subdivision include recess (up to 30 per day PI 8.01(2)(f)2) and time for pupils to transfer between classes but do not include the lunch period. A school board operating a 4-year-old kindergarten program may use up to 87.5 of the scheduled hours for outreach activities.
121.006(2)(a) State aid withheld. Hold school for at least 180 days each year, less any days during which the state superintendent determines that school is not held or educational standards are not maintained as the result of a strike by school district employees, the days to be computed in accordance with s. 115.01(10), Wis. Stats.
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2008-2009 Common School Fund (Library) Aid
Each year school districts receive common school funds (library aid) that are used to purchase library books and other instructional materials. The funding source for this aid is income generated from the state's common school fund, which is primarily derived from interest payments on loans made from the fund to municipalities and school districts by the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands (BCPL). Under the Constitution, revenues from certain fines and forfeitures and the sale of public lands are also deposited in the common school fund.
The common school fund payment to districts for the 2008-2009 school year will be $ 28.36567 per census student. This new figure is based upon the BCPL estimate of $ 35.3 million being available for payment as of April 15. Although this is an estimate, and cannot be guaranteed, it is a conservative estimate and the department feels confident that this is the amount that will be distributed. Payments to districts will be made on Monday, April 27, 2009.
The calculation of each school district's Common School Fund (library aid) is available on the team's website. Click on the "Aid Information" link on the left-hand column scan bar of the team's home webpage or go to the website address: http://dpi.wi.gov/sfs/comsch.html. Additional information about the Common School Fund can be found on the website referenced above. Reminder: districts must spend in the identified 222 000 function object accounts, an amount equal to the library aid they received within the fiscal year, as required by statute.
Reminder: With the passage of the state budget in October 2007, s. 43.70(3), Wis. Stats., which guides use of the Common School Fund, was amended. With the amendment, school districts may now use up to 25 percent of the [CSF] moneys received in a fiscal year to purchase school library computers and related software to be housed in the school library. These purchases must be made in consultation with the school district's library media coordinator, as per PI 8.01(2)(h), Wisconsin Administrative Code . For more about this and other Common School Fund information, go to: http://dpi.wi.gov/sfs/comsch.html.
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Transportation Aid Payment
General Transportation Aid (s. 121.58 Wis. Stats.) will be paid on Monday January 26, 2009.
Transportation Aid eligibility by district for 2008-2009 can be accessed at http://dpi.wi.gov/sfs/pupiltran1.html along with a variety of resources related to pupil transportation requirements and reporting.
The PI-1547 Pupil Transportation Report will open for entry of 2008-09 regular school year transportation counts on May 15, 2009.
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2008-2009 Budget Report Amendments
Districts that officially amend their budget by school board action should also amend the PI 1504 Budget Report. This will ensure that the data used by the department in equalization aid estimates, including the July 1 aid estimate, is the most up-to-date data available. Districts may amend their budget report data by entering the budget report program online and making the changes. Please remember to complete the submission process after the district has amended the report.
Note: districts are able to enter the reporting portal and view budget report data without a password. A password is required only when entering or amending budget report data.
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The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, creed, age, national origin, ancestry, pregnancy, marital status or parental status, sexual orientation, or disability.
SFS Finance Bulletin
is published by the Department of Public Instruction. Questions or comments should be directed to:
David Carlson
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
P. O. Box 7841
Madison, WI 53707-7841
608-267-6968 or 1-800-441-4563
david.carlson@dpi.wi.gov
dpi.wi.gov/sfs/index.html
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