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On Jan. 11, the Board of Education approved the superintendent's recommendation to begin placing the district's monthly check registry on the District 6 website. We'll post these registries here at Money Matters.
To start things off, we are posting the registries from July 2009 to present. In the future, check back here once a month to view the latest posting.
When viewing the registries, you see that all checks the district writes each month are listed, regardless of the amount. Regular employee payroll checks are the only transactions not included in the registry.
If you have questions about a particular check, please e-mail your question to feedback@greeleyschools.org. Be sure to include the check number and transaction date in your e-mail to assist us in locating the specific check you are referencing.
From the Denver Post today, an article regarding the tough budget challenges awaiting the Legislature, and the unfortunate impact this will have on K-12 schools and higher education across the state, including Greeley and Evans. The first few paragraphs are posted here; the entire article is on the Post's website. Tense legislative session ahead with revenues "hitting bottom"
By Tim Hoover, The Denver PostThe angry phone calls and letters have been coming into Capitol offices for months. From teachers and school executives who don't want lawmakers to cut K-12 education. From county commissioners angry about cuts to local aid to counties. From senior citizens furious about the prospect of a property-tax break for the elderly being eliminated for a second year in a row. The messages come from college presidents appalled about cuts to higher education and from business groups complaining about the potential loss of tax breaks and incentives. For state lawmakers, closing budget shortfalls totaling more than $1 billion in the 2010 session, which starts Wednesday, will be an exercise in disappointing many constituencies. "This year is hard because I think this is permanent, in the sense that I don't see things recovering soon," said Rep. Jack Pommer, D-Boulder, chairman of the Joint Budget Committee. "We're hitting bottom, and we're cutting things that are absolutely affecting people's lives. It's not like we can say next year is going to get better, because it isn't."
Attached is the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for fiscal year 2008-09, which was presented to the Board of Education on Monday, Dec. 14. The CAFR audit was done by Sample & Bailey, an independent auditing company. The audit came back clean, with no controversial or unusual transactions found. Sample & Bailey told the Board that the district's internal accounting policies are in line with generally accepted accounting principals.
The PDF of the CAFR is a big file. Please allow some time for it to entirely download to your computer.
The Great Education Colorado organization recently prepared this 30+ year history of education funding in Colorado compared to the national average, and the timing of key state legislation that has impacted funding levels. For more information about the "Falling Red Line" chart or Great Education Colorado, you can visit http://www.greateducation.org/2009/10/the-falling-red-line/. 
To view the District 6 Fourth Quarter Investment Report, click the link below to download it.
To view the District 6 August financial report, click the link below.
Board of Education financial statements are not prepared in June and July as the fiscal year-end for the District is June 30. In order to allow time for the preparation and final processing of year-end data as well as the external financial auditors to confirm the accuracy of the financial information, statements are not prepared for these months. The preliminary 2008-2009 audited information may be found in the August Board of Education reports.
Wayne Eads, chief operations officer for District 6, made a budget presentation to the Board of Education on Monday, Oct. 12. He summarized the district's current fiscal situation and detailed what is expected in the coming years, based on current information about what is likely to be considered by the Colorado Legislature in its next session. Plans are being made in expectation of cuts in public school funding. Audio of Eads' presentation to the board is embedded in the slideshow. To download Eads' PowerPoint document, click the link below. If you do not have Microsoft PowerPoint to view the slideshow, you can download free software here.
At the August 24, 2009, Board of Education meeting, Kathi Van Soest, director of federal programs and grants, presented a detailed report of how the district is using federal stimulus funds provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
To download the report, click the link below.
A common perception is that Colorado school districts in the current school year (2009-10) have received the largest infusion of new money ever seen, with a 4.9 percent increase in per-student funding allocated by the State of Colorado. That’s only partially true, and it doesn’t give an accurate accounting of the real amount of revenue that is available for districts to spend this year.
Looking specifically at District 6’s revenue, we get funding from the State of Colorado on a per-student basis, plus some additional revenue from local Specific Ownership Tax (vehicle registration fees) and investment earnings. Here’s how each of those categories shapes up for our 2009-10 budget:
Student enrollment
We predicted that our student enrollment would increase slightly this year, by 0.8 percent, because of charter school growth and the opening of Trademark West alternative high school. That would bring in a small amount of new money, because we are funded on the number of students we have enrolled. We built the 2009-10 budget using that student enrollment projection. So far, our actual enrollment has come in almost exactly as predicted. We’re only off by a couple of students.
State of Colorado School Finance Act
Colorado increased the per-student allocation for school districts by 4.9 percent, in accordance with Amendment 23 and Referendum C. However, because the State did not have the revenue to actually pay for that increase, districts were ordered to “hold back” and not spend 1.9 percent until January 2010, when the State will see if it has enough revenue to allow districts to spend that money.
Specific Ownership and Investments
Vehicle registrations, and the Specific Ownership Tax revenue they provide to District 6, have decreased over the last year. And, like most people’s 401K’s or other investments, the District is not earning as much money on its investments as last year. Because we count on those investment earnings as a source of revenue, a drop in earnings means a drop in expected revenue.
Here’s how each of these areas tallies up for the 209-10 District 6 budget: | School Finance Act + enrollment increase: | $7.2 million in increased funding | | January 2010 “hold back” money: | - $2.5 million in funding | | Specific Ownership and Investment Earnings: | - $1.3 million in funding | | Total: | $3.4 million actual increase in revenues |
So how is District 6 spending that $3.4 million in additional funding this year?| + $58,000 | Cost decrease because of reduction in mandatory contributions to Capital Reserve Fund | | + $441,000 | Cost decrease because of elimination of contract for Weld Opportunity High School | | + $200,000 | Cost decrease in out-of-district tuition payments (we are paying less to the State for sending certain special-needs students to facilities outside of our district) | | + $191,000 | Increase to the General Operating Fund, provided by allowable “indirect costs” transfers from grants | | - $272,000 | Transfer to Charter Schools, because of their enrollment growth | | - $50,000 | Transfer to the district’s insurance reserve | | - $86,000 | Transfer to Colorado Preschool Program fund | | - $671,000 | Funding of the district’s technology replacement cycle (was not funded at all in 2008-09 in order to save money that year) | | - $60,000 | Facility lease cost for Trademark West, a new alternative program for students | | - $120,000 | Increased cost of utilities at District 6 schools and facilities | | - $1,944,000 | Increased cost of PERA contributions and health insurance premiums (for certificated, classified and administrative employees) | | - $400,000 | Addition of five assistant principals (placed at four elementary schools and at Trademark West high school) | | - $289,000 | Additional classroom support staff (primarily Special Education paraprofessionals) | | + $5,125,000 | Cost decrease in salaries and benefits for 104.55 teachers (full-time equivalent) who retired, resigned or were non-renewed at the end of 2008-09 | | - $5,528,000 | Cost increase to hire new teachers to fill vacancies created by previous year’s retirements, resignations and non-renewals, plus hire an additional 37.55 teachers (full-time equivalent) to reduce middle school class sizes, reduce special education workloads, and staff Trademark West | Total: -$5,000 | Net "available" new money. Note that this is a negative number. District 6 is overspent by $5,000 and will need to reduce current costs to balance its budget.
Should any additional costs be added to the 2009-10 budget at this time, the district will need to cut an equal amount of spending out of this year’s budget. |
Attached is a PDF copy of the 2009-2010 District 6 Budget that was adopted by the Board of Education in June 2009.
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