Iowa Valley CSD Newsletter School Finance Lesson #6- School Budget Iowa Valley Community School District is at that time of year when they, along with all other Iowa schools, are working on their budget estimates for the 2016-2017 school year. The spending limits and tax rates will be set at the April 4, 2016 budget hearing. This budget process sets the school district’s maximum authorized budget for general fund expenditures, also known as TSA (total spending authority). The TSA represents a legal budget limit and allows a school district to carry over unspent monies to next year, which is called the unspent balance.

The budget should reflect the educational priorities of our mission statement which states:

“…provide a safe, comfortable, clean, and caring environment where community and staff work together to provide an education that will maximize each individual’s potential, instill a sense of self-worth, and prepare them for life-long learning.”

In addition to our district’s mission statement, there are four main factors that determine our budget: enrollment, district demographics, collaboration for curriculum change, and a supportive community. Our enrollment, similar to most rural school districts, continues to decline with a certified enrollment of 527.3 this past October, down 20.6 students from October of 2014. Our free/reduced lunch counts also continue to decline but our pre-school population is climbing, a great sign for our district’s future! We are very appreciative of the support we receive from our school community and will continue to work on forming alliances with local businesses, groups, and companies.

The school finance that is set by the state is a formula that is figured on the weighted enrollment of the school district times the district cost per pupil as determined by the state. This formula creates approximately 80% of IVCSD’s estimated budget, the remaining 20% is raised from various programs and levies that have been shared in previous newsletters and are also briefly described below.

Different types of levies/funds that can be implemented by the school board include a $.33 PPEL (Physical Plant and Equipment Levy), a 5-year ISL (Instructional Support Levy), a Cash Reserve levy, At-risk funds, and a Management levy. The uses of these levies/funds are:

• PPEL- repair or purchase of equipment and facilities • ISL- expended for any purpose allowed from the General Fund, but may not be used

to supplant funding authorized to be received for returning dropout and dropout prevention programs, gifted and talented programs, PPEL levy, Management levy, or special education deficits

• Cash reserve levy- enable districts to manage the operating fund’s cash flow and to replace state aid not received or to compensate for property taxes not received

• At-risk funds- provides programs and support for at-risk students • Management levy- used to pay the cost of liability insurance, property insurance, tort

judgments, and costs/incentives for early retirement programs

Our school district continues to review its financial status as it overspent its revenues by $660,315 last year. Our district’s solvency ratio has declined over the past three years as well as our UAB (unspent authorized budget) and number of students served by certified staff. We will continue to keep a very close eye on our budget and spending practices to increase our financial health at IVCSD.

The hearing to approve the FY17 estimated budget will be held at a special meeting on April 4, 2016 at 5:30 PM in the Iowa Valley Community School District’s Superintendent’s office.

Exciting News at IVCSD

Iowa Valley CSD is proud of its students, staff, and entire school community. Highlights of just a few of our recent events are the finishing of our baseball/softball concession stand/crow’s nest, recent National Honor Society Induction, and Bal-a-Vis-X activities. Bal-a-Vis-X was purchased with funds from the Iowa Valley Foundation committee and is designed to strengthen balance, auditory skills, vision, and exercise to help students focus and, as a result, learn better.