JULY

DPI Reports Due

Transfer of Service (TOS) Exemptions (optional), September–Part A of the TOS, where districts file the claims for the additional costs for new students/services in their district in preparation for submission of Part A in September.

Reports due:

July – PI 1547 Regular Pupil Transportation School districts that furnish transportation to and from public and nonpublic schools in the previous school year are entitled to receive state aid for each pupil transported. State pupil transportation aids are determined under the provisions of s. 121.58, Wis. Stats. The appropriation for reimbursement of transporting public and nonpublic school pupils is found in s. 20.255(2)(cr), Wis. Stats.

Distances are measured from the pupil's residence to the school attended; following the shortest commonly traveled route. Half payment is made for pupils enrolled and transported less than 91 days (regular year) or 16 days (summer school).

Districts report the number of pupils transported on the PI 1547 Transportation Report. Data is edited and reviewed for reasonability. The report has built-in edits to review districts’ answers. Some examples of questions asked by the automatic checks are as follows:

  1. Did the district verify that each pupil reported as transported was actually transported at least once during the school year?
  2. Is the district eligible for unusually hazardous transportation aid (UHT) and when was their plan last updated?
  3. Did the district report summer school or vocational transportation for the first time or did the district report it last year but not this year?
  4. Did the school district remember to report pupils who were provided transportation other than by bus (parent contract, etc.)?
  5. Did the school district report non public pupils last year but not this year or this year but not last year?

It will be important for districts to be able to answer the above questions to ensure compliance with the transportation aid statutes. Districts should document their procedures and actions so that external auditors can readily ascertain that the data reported is based on sound reliable practices. In many cases, a bus list with a notation by the driver that shows the pupil was actually transported should be sufficient documentation. In other situations, equivalent documentation should be maintained to show that the district has verified that the pupil was actually transported before reporting him/her on the transportation report. The verification is required to ensure that a district is receiving as much aid as it is entitled. If a student is eligible to ride, but is not actually transported at least once in the school year, the district cannot receive aid on that student.

July – PI 1505 Calendar This report collects information from the previous year regarding the number of days and hours of instruction offered by the District. The number of school days must still be reported to meet the state’s requirement to the federal government. The hours of instruction requirements are found in s. 121.02(1)(f), Wis. Stats. Each school board shall:

(f) 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 paragraph include recess and time for pupils to transfer between classes but do not include the lunch period. Scheduled hours under this paragraph do not include hours of direct pupil instruction offered during an interim session. Scheduled hours under this paragraph may include hours on Saturdays. A school board operating a 4-year-old kindergarten program may use up to 87.5 of the scheduled hours for outreach activities.

All students should have equal opportunity to a comprehensive education. By requiring a minimum number of instructional days with a minimum number of hours of direct pupil instruction, students have increased access to learning. The number of hours selected for the minimum represents the statewide average of hours of instruction determined from past surveys of school districts.

August – PI 1505 Census This report collects school census data as of June 30 for the purpose of paying out Common School Library Aid to Wisconsin School Districts. The Common School Library Fund Aid is an annual entitlement program that distributes the interest earned on loans made from the Common School Fund, one of the state trust funds set up by the Wisconsin Constitution.

For a K-8 district, report students age 4, but not yet 14; for a UHS district, report students age 14, but not yet 21; and for a K-12 district, report students age 4, but not yet 21.

Management Issues

July 1 Aid Estimate – Each year by law the Department provides districts with a General Equalization Aid Estimate for the fiscal year starting July 1st. Note: this estimate is for budget planning purposes and SHOULD be replace with the October 15 Certification of General Equalization Aid.

In-District Financial Audit - During July, in additional to closing out their previous year ledgers, districts will be preparing for the in-district financial audit. An annual audit of district financial records by an independent auditor is statutorily required. Independent auditors examine district records to verify that the district financial statements fairly represent the financial activity for the year ended June 30th.

The purpose of the audit is to assure users that the financial statements are fairly presented in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), determine compliance with state and federal requirements, and maintain public confidence in the reliability of published financial data.

The phases of the audit process are as follows: 1.) planning; 2.) preliminary fieldwork; 3.) final fieldwork; and 4.) communication with management.

To prepare for the audit, districts should: 1.) request a list of all items the auditor will need for the audit; 2.) post all year-end items; 3.) reconcile all balance sheet accounts; 4.) have all manual journal entries available for review; 5.) print year-end general ledger, revenue, and expenditure reports.

Finalize Current Year Budget Development – Also during July, districts will be finalizing their new-year budgets. The district’s budget is a finance roadmap of the upcoming year based on the district’s best estimations of all revenues (pay specific attention to current Revenue Limit and Equalization Aid estimates) and expenses (pay specific attention to current contract/negotiations salary and benefit information).

At some point during the summer, most districts will need to hold their Annual Meeting. (See narrative in the May document regarding requirements.)

Then, in mid-October, after the 3rd Friday in September F.T.E numbers are available and the DPI certifies the October 15 General Aid certification, the district will need to update their Revenue Limit computation with both pieces of new data and finally calculate their revenue limit and resulting levies for taxing purposes.

Summer/Interim session classes and summer membership Pupil Count – School boards have the option to offer additional summer or interim session academic classes that are related or similar to instruction offered during the regular academic school year. Such instruction is provided free of charge (tuition) and any fees charged to students must be allowed and reconciled to account for actual cost to the district. Summer or interim session academic classes are voluntary and districts are prohibited from requiring student participation. Eligible summer and interim course minutes are claimed October 1st for summer membership full-time equivalency (FTE) for equalization aid and revenue limit purposes. To be eligible, course offerings must follow the summer and interim session statutes and rules. Academic classes are different from summer extracurricular or summer activities that may be operated by a community service organization or program.

Summer membership “begins” the pupil count for a school year, even if classes are held in the previous fiscal year. Full-time equivalency (FTE) membership in summer/interim courses is eligible for state aid, which is added to the school district's regular membership for the following school year. Each September, districts will be required to submit the summer/interim minutes to DPI.

Review Revenue Limit – As you move through the summer months, your district will receive records transfer requests for students leaving your district, and you will send records transfer requests for students entering your district. You district’s revenue limit computation, which directly determines the amount of resources available to fund your programs, is based on, among other items, the district 3rd Friday in September membership. (Membership is a fulltime equivalency of your resident student count.) As your projected fall student count changes, districts should constantly be evaluating the effect on their revenue limit computation.

Familiarize Staff with Residency Policyas it applies to student registration – Staff, particularly those involved with registration, should be familiar with your school board’s residency policy as well as the district boundaries and which residences are within your district and which are not. See the January document for additional information on residency.