June 2021
Annual Reminder: Billing for Supplementary Weighting
Open Enrollment and Concurrent Enrollment Supplementary Weighting Districts offering concurrent enrollment courses and eligible Project Lead the Way (PLTW) courses may bill resident districts for the supplementary weighting generated on open-enrolled students enrolled in the contracted courses. Bills for the supplementary weighting can be generated using the information provided in the Student Reporting in Iowa (SRI) application. Before paying a bill for supplementary weighting, the resident district can verify the information by reviewing the Supplementary Weighting (Non-Fall) application in the Iowa Education Portal. When computing the supplementary weighting, use the student’s resident district cost per pupil of the year in which the course was taken. Directions for generating and verifying the bills are posted on the Supplementary Weighting - Certified Enrollment page of the Iowa Department of Education (Department) website (281 IAC 17.10(8)).
Whole Grade Sharing and Concurrent Enrollment Supplementary Weighting For districts in a whole grade sharing arrangement, supplementary weighting generated on resident students remains with the resident district unless some other arrangement has been articulated in the whole grade sharing agreement. While options for distributing the concurrent enrollment supplementary weighting exist, such as having the community college contract directly with the sharing partner for the sharing partner’s resident students or negotiating a higher per pupil rate for whole grade shared students in grades 9-12, addressing the issue of distributing the concurrent enrollment supplementary weighting in the whole grade sharing agreement may be the best alternative.
Shared Teacher and Supplementary Weighting When two districts agree to share a teacher, only one district holds the contract for the teacher. The district buying a portion of the contract may generate supplementary weighting on their resident students enrolled in courses taught by the shared teacher. Eligibility for supplementary weighting is dependent on the purchasing district not having a licensed and endorsed teacher available within the school district to teach the course(s) being provided by the shared teacher (281 IAC 97.2(3)). The supplementary weighting incentive is for the non-contract holding district. The district holding the contract benefits by being able to retain a teacher and also have a portion of the contract paid by another district.
Other Billing Situations
- Whole grade sharing billing for the second semester is based on the count of resident students from the sending district on the second Friday in January (Iowa Code 282.12(4)). In the 2020-2021 school year, second semester count for whole grade sharing occurred on January 14, 2021.
- If a sharing district elects not to enter into a whole grade sharing agreement when sharing “all or a substantial portion of the students in any grade” with another school district for “all or a substantial portion of a school day, then no students in that grade level are eligible for supplementary weighting except as authorized by 281 IAC 97.5 pursuant to the supplementary weighting plan for whole-grade sharing (281 IAC 97.2(8))." An exception to the “no students are eligible for supplementary weighting” is concurrent enrollment supplementary weighting. High school students attending another district, either through a whole grade sharing agreement or a tuition agreement because of the discontinuation of grades, are eligible for generating supplementary weighting when enrolled in eligible concurrent enrollment courses.
- There is no billing of costs incurred for students taking high school, concurrent enrollment, or postsecondary enrollment options (PSEO) courses who are enrolled in the public district as:
Competent private instruction (CPI) dual enrolled (Iowa Code 257.6(3) and (7)) Open enrolled CPI dual enrolled (Iowa Code 257.6(3) and (7)) Independent private instruction (IPI) for concurrent enrollment only (Iowa Code 261E.8(2)) Nonpublic shared time (Iowa Code 257.6(3) and (7)) Junior/Senior rule (Iowa Code 257.6(4))
For the situations listed, the serving district generates funding directly through certified enrollment.
- No parent or student shall be billed for costs incurred from concurrent enrollment courses, even if the cost to the district exceeds the billable amount (281 IAC 17.10(8)“d”).
- Districts cannot bill students or parents for failed concurrent enrollment courses.
- A district can bill a parent (or student if 18 years of age) for the tuition cost of a failed PSEO course, the cost of equipment that becomes the property of the student, and the cost of a school-owned textbook that is not returned (Iowa Code 261E.7(3)).
- A serving district can only bill the resident district of an open enrolled student for tuition, supplementary weighting generated from concurrent enrollment courses, Project Lead the Way courses, English language learner (ELL or LEP) supplementary weighting, and the teacher leadership district cost per pupil (Iowa Code 282.18(9); 281 IAC 17.10(8)“c”).
If you have further questions, please contact the Bureau of School Business Operations.
Whole Grade Sharing Supplementary Weighting
Up to three years of whole-grade sharing supplementary weighting continues to be available to districts studying and working toward reorganization with a reorganization effective date on or before July 1, 2024. Districts that have already passed a board resolution to study reorganization effective on or before July 1, 2019 do not need to pass a new resolution. Please review Iowa Administrative Code 281-97.5 for more information and whole-grade sharing supplementary weighting.
Year 1 Districts in a whole-grade sharing arrangement with a desire to work toward reorganization that have not passed a resolution to study reorganization must do so by October 1, 2021 in order to qualify for year 1 whole-grade sharing supplementary weighting.
The requirements for the resolution to qualify the districts for supplementary weighting are as follows:
- The resolution must be a separate action noted in the school board meeting minutes of each board. The resolution may also be included in the whole-grade sharing agreement, but passing the whole-grade sharing agreement alone will not qualify a district for the supplementary weighting.
- The resolution must include these three phrases:
a. the board adopts this resolution jointly with the ________ Community School District b. to study the question of undergoing a reorganization (or dissolution, if applicable) c. to occur on or before July 1, 2024 [an earlier date is acceptable]
This specific language is designed to inform the public of exactly what is being explored by the districts; variances from the above language will likely disqualify the districts’ eligibility for supplementary weighting. Passing the resolution qualifies the districts for the first year of whole-grade sharing supplementary weighting.
Year 2 and 3 To qualify for the second year of supplementary weighting, the sharing districts will need to establish a reorganization committee by August 1 of the year when submitting the Year 2 request.
To qualify for the third year of whole-grade sharing supplementary weighting, the sharing districts must have an AEA-approved plan for reorganization by August 1 and a date for an election on the proposed reorganization by the end of the calendar year when submitting the Year 3 request. If the election to reorganize is not successful, the districts may submit a request to the SBRC asking to withdraw the whole-grade sharing supplementary weighting request for Year 3. Districts may then resubmit the request for Year 3 supplementary weighting when another reorganization election has been set, thus allowing districts to take advantage of the reorganization incentive provided in Iowa Code 257.11A.
Requests for year 1, 2, or 3 whole-grade sharing supplementary weighting are submitted through the School Information Update application on the Grade Sharing tab. Districts do not need to have the School Information Update application uncertified in order to complete the Grade Sharing portion of the application. While districts seeking Year 1 whole-grade sharing supplementary weighting have a deadline of October 1 to request supplementary weighting, districts seeking Year 2 or 3 must complete the request in the School Information Update application by August 1. Requests for Year 2 and 3 supplementary weighting are reviewed and approved or denied by the School Budget Review Committee (SBRC) at the October hearing.
If you have further questions, please contact Carla Schimelfenig, 515-242-5612.
Joint Employment Whole Grade Sharing
Districts in a whole grade sharing arrangement desiring to apply for joint employment must submit the application by July 1. According to 281 IAC 97.2(4), the minimum requirements for joint employment include:
- a joint teacher evaluation process and instruments,
- a joint teacher professional development plan, and
- one single salary schedule.
Additional evidence that the partner districts, while not yet reorganized, are functioning as one may include such items as:
- same student information system
- same financial software
- identical calendars
- one website for both districts
Applications may be emailed to Carla Schimelfenig at carla.schimelfenig@iowa.gov (please cc tom.cooley@iowa.gov) or mailed to: Carla Schimelfenig Department of Education Grimes State Office Building 400 E. 14th St Des Moines, IA 50319-046
Teacher Leadership and Compensation and Open Enrollment FY22
All districts receive Teacher Leadership and Compensation (TLC) through state aid. The state aid amount for FY22 is $349.07.
In FY22, all districts will pay open enrollment at the rate of $340.89, which is the per pupil rate for the prior year.
If you have questions about the TLC program, please contact lora.rasey@iowa.gov or 515-725-0648.
For questions regarding coding, please contact denise.ragias@iowa.gov or 515-281-4741, or janice.evans@iowa.gov or 515-281-4740.
Supplemental Aid for FY20 Special Education Deficit
Payment went out earlier this month to districts that had a special education deficit in 2020. The supplemental aid payment should be coded to Source/Project 3113. Use program code between 211 and 219. This revenue source does not need matching expenditures.
If you have further questions, please contact janice.evans@iowa.gov or 515-281-4740, or denise.ragias@iowa.gov or 515-281-4741.
Tuition-In Billing
The Tuition-In Billing (TIB) program is now available for districts to complete their FY21 final year billings. Please remember that all school districts will need to submit their final year billings by July 15.
You are required to enter student information by number of DAYS only. As in past years, an upload must be completed to activate the TIB program. Districts should also clear edits related to special education accounts in the CAR 2021 COA Test Records application prior to sending bills through TIB.
Between June 1 and 22, districts should ensure all students have been entered into their TIB program, including all special education foster care, termination of rights, nonpublic, and high cost claims. Also, to be entered are students educated in day programs, residential programs, and hospitals.
From June 22 to July 5, all school districts should review and verify the accuracy of the tuition out information through the Special Education Supplement (SES). If it is determined that a student has been omitted, contact the district that provided educational services to ensure they add the student in their TIB program.
If you have further questions, please contact bill.roederer@iowa.gov or 515-281-7972.
Interfund Transfers
Transferring money from one fund to another, especially from the general fund to a proprietary fund, has generated much discussion with the State Appeal Board (SAB) and the SBRC. Several studies and analyses have been requested of state agencies on the issue.
Tax levies or funds that are required by law to be expended only for the specific items listed in statute shall be accounted for in a similar way to categorical funding. Each fund is mutually exclusive and completely independent of any other fund. No fund shall be used as a clearing account for another fund, and no fund may retire the debt of another fund unless specifically authorized in statute (IAC 281—98.60). Throughout Iowa Code, there are references to the fact that funds are separate. Each fund has been created for a specific purpose, and its moneys can be used only for those purposes. There are few known expenditures which are authorized by Code to be expended from more than one fund. This would limit the possibility of legal interfund transfers because the money would have to be expended for a purpose which was authorized in the sending fund, as well as in the receiving fund. Refer to chapter 9 of the Uniform Administrative Procedures for a list of those expenditures with their Code references.
Generally, moneys may not be permanently transferred between funds, other than authorized by 298A.8, 298A.9, 298A.10, 298A.12, and 298A.15, unless the transfer is the residual equity left in a fund for which the purpose of the fund has ended (Iowa Code 24.21). This does not mean partial transfers of money considered to be surplus; instead this means a transfer of the entire balance in a fund and permanent elimination of that fund. All allowable transfers or loans require board action, some require a vote of the electorate (Iowa Code 278.1“e”), some require authorization from the SAB (Iowa Code 24.22) and some require authorization from the SBRC (Iowa Code 257.31(6) and 24.6(2)“b”). The SBRC has general budget oversight on school districts and AEAs, so is authorized to act on any interfund transfers between any school district/AEA funds. Mostly, they focus on any transfers that impact budget authority for school districts or impact fund balance for AEAs.
Moneys may be temporarily loaned between certain funds, but these do not result in permanent transfers, and they are not recorded as interfund transfers. These interfund loans must follow specific steps to be allowed. Those steps have been provided in a declaratory order written by the Iowa Department of Education. A summary is presented here:
All loans between funds within a fiscal year must be accomplished through official board action and may not be accomplished until the board by resolution authorizes the loan. An interfund loan must not constitute an amendment to the budgeted revenues or expenditures for the fiscal year.
The resolution must specify the funds from which and to which the transfer will be made. A note is not necessary if the resolution specifies the terms of repayment including the payment of interest. Interest must be paid from the borrowing fund on the unpaid balance at the rate in effect at the time of the loan as established by rule pursuant to Iowa Code section 74A.6, subsection 2.
The loan must be repaid before October 1 of the fiscal year following the fiscal year within which the loan occurred. In the event repayment cannot be made by that time, the school corporation must proceed under the provisions of Iowa Code chapter 74 to issue anticipatory warrants or seek approval of the voters pursuant to Iowa Code section 278.1(5) for transfer of surplus funds from the debt service, physical plant and equipment levy, capital projects, or public education and recreation levy funds to the general fund, or, for other transfers, seek approval from the State Appeal Board pursuant to Iowa Code section 24.22. Interfund loans within a fiscal year do not require State Appeal Board approval so long as they are repaid by October 1 of the following fiscal year. (25 D.E. Dec. Ord. 183).
If you have further questions, please contact denise.ragias@iowa.gov or 515-281-4741, or janice.evans@iowa.gov or 515-281-4740.
School-Level Expenditure Reporting: Choosing the Right Facility Code
The Department has received a number of questions regarding the correct facility code use for summer school expenditures. A review of the Statewide School-Level Financial Coding Practices, internal research regarding current practices, and a prior discussion with the School-Level Reporting (SLR) Advisory helped to produce the best practices provided below.
It is appropriate to code summer school expenditures to a school, school instructional, or district level facility code depending on the local logistics of the program.
- School Level: If the district can determine summer school expenditures for students that normally attend a specific school, code the expenditures to that school’s facility code.
- School Instructional Level: If the district is unable to determine summer school expenditures by school level or the percentage of students served is distributed the same as those served by the schools, it is appropriate to code summer school expenditures to the instructional level (high school: 9331, middle school: 9332, or 9334: elementary school). Expenditures coded to the instructional level will be allocated for report card purposes to each school within the instructional level based on the average daily membership (ADM) which is the pupil count used for the report card, at each school.
- District Level: If the district is unable to determine summer school costs by school or school instructional level or if the percentages of costs are approximately equal to the percentages of students at each school, it is appropriate to code the expenditures to a district level facility code. Expenditures coded to a district level facility code will be allocated for report card purposes to each school in the district based on ADM.
- Providing Summer School Programming for Non-resident Students: It is appropriate to code expenditures related to providing the summer school program to non-resident students the same way other students at that level are coded.
View the Statewide School-Level Financial Coding Practices guidance for additional information. Questions regarding implementation can be directed to kassandra.cline@iowa.gov or 515-281-4738.
Further questions regarding coding can be directed to denise.ragias@iowa.gov or 515-281-4741, or janice.evans@iowa.gov or 515-281-4740.
School Meals 2021-22
USDA has issued nationwide waivers that allow School Food Authorities (SFAs) the option of operating the National School Lunch Program (NSLP)/School Breakfast Program (SBP) OR the Seamless Summer Option (SSO) in school year 2021-2022, effective through June 30, 2022. These waivers will help streamline access, enhance program flexibility, and reduce administrative burden. Districts should check the Department Warrants application on the Education Portal for source funding. Additional guidance will be provided as it becomes available.
The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) will not be an option for the school year 2021-2022 and SFSP operations must cease with the start of the new school year.
Further questions regarding coding can be directed to denise.ragias@iowa.gov or 515-281-4741, or janice.evans@iowa.gov or 515-281-4740. Further questions regarding the Child Nutrition Programs can be directed to your assigned School Nutrition Program Consultant, patti.harding@iowa.gov or 515-281-4754, or stephanie.dross@iowa.gov or 515-281-4760.
Student Activity Fund Revenues
A recent legislative inquiry led us to review Student Activity Fund revenues and we found a few surprises. Is your district only using one or two source codes for the Student Activity Fund? If so, you might want to take a closer look at the revenue side of this fund for appropriate coding. Below are some of the more frequently used source codes:
- 151x - Interest Income
- 171x - Admissions
- 173x - Student organization membership dues and fees
- 174x - Fees - this would include entry fees for other districts to participate in a meet the district is holding (detail use 1748)
- 179x - Other Activity Income; if using detail, 1791 - Fundraisers - this could also be used for fundraisers such as concessions, or sales of clothing or other items to those that are not students
- 192x (not 1921 or 1922) - Donations
- 1958 - Other Sales of Service/Misc Revenues from other Iowa LEAs/AEAs - sharing activity programs
- 1991 - Sale of Materials or Supplies - sale of T-shirts to students at cost
- 5311 - Compensation for loss of fixed assets - payments received from students for loss of uniform
If you have further questions, please contact janice.evans@iowa.gov or 515-282-4740, or denise.ragias@iowa.gov or 515-281-4741.
Iowa Chart of Account Coding Updates
The Iowa Chart of Account Coding is regularly updated to reflect changes necessary to meet fiscal reporting needs. The most recent update is provided below.
May 2021 |
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Project 3174 |
Flexibility Fund Account Originating from Excess Teacher Leadership Supplement (Project 3116) Funds (IC 298A.2(2)(a)(4))
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School Information Update
Thank you for the timely completion of the School Information Update review for the 2021-2022 school year. If your district experiences a superintendent or principal change over the summer, please remember to log into the portal and update the administrator information as soon as a replacement has been named. Superintendents and principals are listed in the Iowa Educational Directory. This document is printed once a year. Being able to provide the most accurate information at the time of printing depends on each district keeping the School Information Update application updated as changes in administrators occur.
School Board Officers
If your district experiences a change in chief financial officer (CFO)/school business official (SBO) or other local officials, please remember to update the School Board Officers application in the Education Portal to reflect this change.
Foster Care Claim – Regular Education Students
The process used this year to create the Foster Care Claim for regular education students will be different from prior years. Because of the mandatory school closure and districts’ choice to offer voluntary or required continuous learning opportunities, days enrolled during the 2020-2021 school year, as reported from each district’s student information system in Spring Student Reporting in Iowa (SRI), may or may not be accurate for the purpose of generating the Foster Care Claim.
If a student ended his or her foster care enrollment before March 13, days enrolled while in foster care is assumed to be accurate.
If a student continued his or her enrollment through the end of the school year or the enrollment showing foster care placement ended after March 13, days enrolled while in foster care will be edited to show days enrolled as if the school year had not experienced any closures.
In order to create these changes, the Foster Care Claim application will not run directly from the Spring SRI data. A set of records will be created from Spring SRI to reflect modifications to days enrolled. These changes to days enrolled should minimize the impact everyone experienced this year and allow districts to continue counting students in foster care as enrolled based on the opportunity to participate in educational learning.
When the Foster Care Claim application opens later in July, you will see no difference in the application itself. The changes to be made will be to the underlying data stored in a table which you will only see as modified days enrolled in the application. The July School Business Alert will provide further details regarding the certification of the Foster Care Claim.
If you have questions about the regular education Foster Care Claim process, please contact Carla Schimelfenig (515)242-5612.
Due Date
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What's Due |
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June 30 |
Last Day to Pay Postsecondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) Tuition Due to Eligible Postsecondary Institution |
July 1 |
Vehicle Information System (VIS) Updates Due |
July 1 |
Joint Enrollment Whole Grade Sharing Applications Due |
July 15 |
Last Day to Bill for Second Semester Regular and Special Education Tuition |
Current and past issues of the School Leader Update. Current and past issues of the School Business Alert.
If you have suggestions for future SBA articles, please submit them to Tom Cooley at tom.cooley@iowa.gov.
It is the policy of the Iowa Department of Education not to discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, sex, disability, religion, age, political party affiliation, or actual or potential parental, family or marital status in its programs, activities, or employment practices as required by the Iowa Code sections 216.9 and 256.10(2), Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. § 2000d and 2000e), the Equal Pay Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. § 206, et seq.), Title IX (Educational Amendments, 20 U.S.C.§§ 1681 – 1688), Section 504 (Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 794), and the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. § 12101, et seq.). If you have questions or complaints related to compliance with this policy by the Iowa Department of Education, please contact the legal counsel for the Iowa Department of Education, Grimes State Office Building, 400 E. 14th Street, Des Moines, IA 50319-0146, telephone number: 515-281-5295, or the Director of the Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, Citigroup Center, 500 W. Madison Street, Suite 1475, Chicago, IL 60661-4544, telephone number: 312-730-1560, FAX number: 312-730-1576, TDD number: 877-521-2172, email: OCR.Chicago@ed.gov.
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