The Tuolumne County Board of Education accepts responsibility for adopting a sound budget for each fiscal year which is aligned with the county office's vision, goals, priorities, local control and accountability plan (LCAP). The budget shall guide administrative decisions and actions throughout the year and shall serve as a tool for monitoring the fiscal health of the County Office of Education.
Budget Development and Adoption Process
The budget to be adopted shall be from the best possible estimates provided by the Tuolumne County Superintendent of Schools or designee.
The budget shall show a complete plan and itemized statement of all proposed expenditures in each fund of the County Office, of estimated ending balances and of all estimated revenues for the budget year, and shall include an estimate of those figures, unaudited, for the fiscal year immediately preceding the budget year.
Each year, the County Board and the County Superintendent or designee shall develop a plan to ensure that the budget is adopted within the time limits set by law.
The budget shall be developed in accordance with standards and criteria adopted by the State Board of Education. (Education Code 33127, 33129; 5 CCR 15467-15479)
In reviewing the proposed budget, the County Board shall consider past, current and future fiscal obligations of the County Office, stability of funding sources, enrollment trends, legal requirements and constraints, anticipated increases and/or decreases in the cost of services and supplies, use of one-time resources, categorical program requirements, and any other factors necessary to ensure that the budget is a realistic plan for County Office revenues and expenditures.
Fund Balance
The County Board shall establish and maintain a general fund reserve for economic uncertainty that meets or exceeds the requirements of 5 CCR 15474.
The district shall classify fund balances in compliance with Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement 54, as follows:
1. Nonspendable fund balance includes amounts that are not expected to be converted to cash, such as resources that are not in a spendable form (e.g., inventories and prepaids) or that are legally or contractually required to be maintained intact.
2. Restricted fund balance includes amounts constrained to specific purposes by their providers or by law.
3. Committed fund balance includes amounts constrained to specific purposes by the County Superintendent.
4. Assigned fund balance includes amounts which the County Superintendent or its designee intends to use for a specific purpose.
5. Unassigned fund balance includes amounts that are available for any purpose.
When multiple types of funds are available for an expenditure, the district shall first utilize funds from the restricted fund balance as appropriate, then from the committed fund balance, then from the assigned fund balance, and lastly from the unassigned fund balance.
To protect the County Office against unforeseen circumstances such as revenue shortfalls and unanticipated expenditures, the County Superintendent intends to maintain a minimum unassigned fund balance, which includes a reserve for economic uncertainties (REU) equal to at least two months of general fund operating expenditures, or 18 percent of general fund expenditures and other financing uses.
The board will review this policy annually and increase the REU minimum to 25 percent of general fund expenditures as fiscally allowable.
If the unassigned fund balance falls below this level due to an emergency situation, unexpected expenditures, or revenue shortfalls, the County Superintendent shall develop a plan to recover the fund balance which may include dedicating new unrestricted revenues, reducing expenditures, and/or increasing revenues or pursuing other funding sources.
Adoption of County School Service Fund Budget
The County Superintendent or designee shall present the proposed county school service fund budget to the County Board as early as possible in the fiscal year preceding the budget year, to allow the County Board sufficient time to adopt the budget by July 1 in accordance with law.
On or before July 1 of each year, the County Board shall adopt a county school service fund budget for the budget year following its adoption of the LCAP or annual update to the LCAP at the same meeting, and shall file the budget with the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the County Board of supervisors and the county auditor. (Education Code 1622)
Before adopting the county school service fund budget, the County Board shall hold a public hearing. An agenda for this hearing shall be posted at least 72 hours before the hearing and shall indicate the location where the budget may be inspected. The proposed budget shall be available for public inspection at least three working days before this hearing. During the hearing, any taxpayer directly affected by the budget may speak to the proposed budget or any item in the budget. (Education Code 1620, 1622)
If the Superintendent of Public Instruction disapproves the county school service fund budget, the County Board and County Superintendent shall review and respond to his/her recommendations at a public meeting on or before September 8. That response shall include the proposed actions to be taken, if any, as a result of those recommendations. (Education Code 1622)
No later than 45 days after the Governor signs the annual Budget Act, the County Superintendent shall make available for public review any revisions made to the budget to reflect the funding made available by the Budget Act. (Education Code 1622)
Transfer of Funds
The County Board authorizes the County Superintendent or designee, without further approval, to spend within budget categories and to make transfers between budget categories, to meet necessary expenses. Any transfer of funds between budget categories shall be included in financial reports to the County Board.
Budget Revision
Any proposed revision to the budget, in excess of $25,000, shall be incorporated into the next interim financial report or other County Board report and presented to the County Board for discussion and approval at a regularly scheduled public meeting of the County Board.
Financial Reports
The County Board shall review two interim financial reports to be submitted by the County Superintendent or designee. The first report shall cover the County Office's financial and budgetary status for the period ending October 31 and the second report shall cover the period ending January 31. (Education Code 1240)
Legal Reference:
EDUCATION CODE
1240 Duties of county superintendent of schools
33127-33131 Standards and criteria for local budgets and expenditures
35035 Powers and duties of superintendent
35161 Powers and duties, generally, of governing boards
42103 Public hearing on proposed budget; requirements for content of proposed budget
42122-42129 Budget requirements
42130-42134 Financial certifications
42140-42141 Disclosure of fiscal obligations
42602 Use of unbudgeted funds
42605 Tier 3 categorical flexibility
42610 Appropriation of excess funds and limitation thereon
44518-44519.2 Chief business officer training program
45253 Annual budget of personnel commission
45254 First year budget of personnel commission
GOVERNMENT CODE
7900-7914 Appropriations limit
CODE OF REGULATIONS, TITLE 5
15060 Standardized account code structure
15440-15451 Criteria and standards for school district budgets
Management Resources:
CSBA PUBLICATIONS
Maximizing School Board Governance: Budget Planning and Adoption, 2006
Maximizing School Board Governance: Understanding District Budgets, 2006
School Finance CD-ROM, 2005
CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION PUBLICATIONS
California School Accounting Manual
New Requirements for Reporting Fund Balance in Governmental Funds, January 7, 2011
FISCAL CRISIS AND MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE TEAM PUBLICATIONS
Fiscal Oversight Guide for AB 1200, AB 2756 and Subsequent Related Legislation, September 2006
GOVERNMENT FINANCE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION
Best Practice: Appropriate Level of Unrestricted Fund Balance in the General Fund, 2009
GOVERNMENTAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS BOARD STATEMENTS
Statement 54, Fund Balance Reporting and Governmental Fund Type Definitions, March 2009
Statement 45, Accounting and Financial Reporting by Employers for Post-employment Benefits Other Than Pensions, June 2004
Statement 34, Basic Financial Statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis - For State and Local Governments, June 1999
WEB SITES
CSBA: http://www.csba.org
Association of California School Administrators: http://www.acsa.org
California Department of Education, Finance and Grants: http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg
California Department of Finance: http://www.dof.ca.gov
Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team: http://www.fcmat.org
Government Finance Officers Association: http://www.gfoa.org
Governmental Accounting Standards Board: http://www.gasb.org
Legislative Analyst's Office: http://www.lao.ca.gov
School Services of California, Inc.: http://www.sscal.com
Policy TUOLUMNE COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOL
adopted: October 8, 2018 Sonora, California
revised: March 11, 2019