State School Funding Payments
The May State School Funding Payments for FY 2022 were posted at the following link: State School Payments
The May 26, 2022, payments include Guaranteed Tax Base Aid, State Lands Block Grant, State Coal Mitigation Block Grant, State Major Maintenance Aid, County Retirement and Debt Service Assistance.
The FY 2022 June payment is scheduled for June 27, 2022.
If you have questions regarding payments, please contact Becky Belling at (406) 444-2561.
New to the Team!
School Finance encourages everyone to give a warm welcome to Jesse Romero! Jesse is our new Computer Support Technician. He has extensive customer service experience, and he will be essential in providing support to Montana school districts and the students of Montana. Questions can be sent to OPISchoolFinance@mt.gov or Jesse Romero can be contacted by email or at (406)444-3096
GASB Updates - Leases
Guidance for GASB 87 on leases has been provided on the OPI website, this is the same as the information available on the Local Government Services website. The purpose of this guidance is to help determine is a lease is within the scope of GASB 87 reporting requirements. The Effective Date is for fiscal years beginning after June 15, 2021, and all reporting periods thereafter. For questions or more information in regard to the updates please contact Dan Moody at (406) 444-0701 or email OPISchoolFinance@mt.gov.
ESSER II - Targeted Support
The 2021 Legislature through HB 630 amended statute to suspend the funding of enrollment increases through the Anticipated Enrollment Increase (20-9-314, MCA) and Unanticipated Enrollment Increase (20-9-166, MCA) processes. However, the legislature provided for additional payments to schools for enrollment increases during FY2022 & FY2023. See the Memo on the ESSER website for more information. The Additional funding was distributed to counties in April. The ESSER II Targeted Support funds are to be distributed through Egrants. The funds may be used for general operations purposes. The accounting codes for the ESSER II targeted support can be found in the Consolidated Guidance Document.
The Targeted Support is not a separate grant but has been added to the Allocation page. However, you need to open an Amendment to your application in order to see the Targeted Support column.
Questions: For information on Targeted Support, please contact: Barb Quinn, School Finance Senior Manager at (406) 444-3249 or email OPISchoolFinance@mt.gov.
Budget Amendments
In accordance with 20-9-162, MCA, budget amendments must be adopted prior to the end of the school fiscal year (June 30th). A budget amendment may be adopted only for the purposes outlined in 20-9-161, MCA. The budget amendment packet may be found here: Budgets (mt.gov).
Questions: For information on Budget Amendments, please contact: Nicole Thuotte, Financial Specialist, (406) 444-4524, or email OPISchoolFinance@mt.gov.
County Treasurer’s Reporting Forms
The County Treasurer’s Report of Countywide School Funds (county data) is due to the Office of Public Instruction by August 15, 2022, for the fiscal year ending 2022. A template of the report, “FY2022 Countywide School Funds – FP6b Version 1” (or version 2), is located on OPI’s website, County (mt.gov). Please email the report to OPISchoolFinance@mt.gov.
The Office of Public Instruction (OPI) has posted the following FY 2023 County reporting forms at the following link: County (mt.gov)
- County Treasurer Statement (FP6a)
- FY 2023 Countywide School Funds (FB6b)
- Joint District Basic Data (FP8a)
- Joint District Tax Levy Summary (FP8b)
If you have questions regarding payments, please contact Becky Belling at (406) 444-2561 or email OPISchoolFinance@mt.gov.
FY 2023 Special Education Cooperative Reports
The Office of Public Instruction (OPI) has posted the FY 2023 Special Education Allowable Cost Funding Cooperative Preliminary reports at the following link: State School Payments (mt.gov)
For any additional questions, please contact Becky Belling at (406) 444-2561 or email OPISchoolFinance@mt.gov.
Extracurricular Activities Participation
Students participating in extracurricular activities in the 21-22 school year and who meet the requirements of 20-9-311(13), MCA may be included in the district’s FY 23 ANB count. The students must be enrolled in AIM and have their participating data entered as part of the End of Year collection. The guide to entering that information in AIM may be found here: AIM Extracurricular Activities Guide. Additionally, two new documents explaining the legislative changes in SB 72 and SB 157 may be found here: Student Count ANB/Guides & Resources.
Questions: For information on Extracurricular Activities Participation, please contact: Nicole Thuotte, Financial Specialist, 406-444-4524.
Foster and Group Home Tuition Claims
Under new legislation passed in the 2021 Legislative Session, foster and group home tuition claims must be submitted to the OPI no later than June 30, 2022. Tuition claims are no longer sent to the OPI but entered directly into the MAEFAIRS system by the district. Claims cannot be entered after the June 30th deadline. The district of attendance must notify the resident district of any obligation for tuition not later than August 15th. Resident districts may run a report in MAEFAIRS at any time to see claims that have been submitted. These should not be viewed as actual bills from the district of attendance, but rather an opportunity to review submitted claims. The report may be found under Views>Tuition>Foster and Group Home Resident District.
Questions: For information on Tuition, please contact: Nicole Thuotte, Financial Specialist, (406) 444-4524, or email OPISchoolFinance@mt.gov.
State Facility Tuition Claims
Under new legislation passed in the 2021 Legislative Session, resident districts will now be responsible for a portion of the education costs for students in state facilities (Shodair, Intermountain, Yellowstone Boys & Girls Ranch). The state facility must notify the resident district of any obligation for tuition not later than August 15th. Resident districts may run a report in MAEFAIRS at any time to see claims that have been submitted. These should not be viewed as actual bills from the facility, but rather an opportunity to review submitted claims. The report may be found under Views>Tuition>State Facilities District of Residence.
Questions: For information on Tuition, please contact: Nicole Thuotte, Financial Specialist, (406) 444-4524, or email OPISchoolFinance@mt.gov.
In District Special Education Permissive Tuition Levy
The updated spreadsheet for FY 23 has been posted to the OPI Webpage and may be found here: Tuition and Attendance (mt.gov).
Questions: For information on Tuition, please contact: Nicole Thuotte, Financial Specialist, (406) 444-4524, or email OPISchoolFinance@mt.gov.
Impact Aid Application Amendments
June 30, 2022, is the deadline for submission of Impact Aid applications, including amendments under the Supplemental Impact Aid Flexibility Act. Information about this act and instructions for completing an amendment may be found here: Home - Impact Aid Grant System (ed.gov).
Questions: For information on Impact Aid, please contact: Nicole Thuotte, Financial Specialist, (406) 444-4524, or email OPISchoolFinance@mt.gov.
School Elections
A Supreme Court ruling issued May 17, 2022, has changed some of the requirements for school elections that were made by an earlier District Court ruling. If your district is running an election after the regular school election date, please check the OPI Elections Webpage for the most current information. Elections (mt.gov)
Questions: For information on School Elections, please contact: Nicole Thuotte, Financial Specialist, (406) 444-4524, or email OPISchoolFinance@mt.gov.
2022 Montana School Bus Standards—Extended Stop Signal Arm Requirements
Extended Stop Arm (Page 40) --Effective July 1, 2022
When a school bus route includes a bus stop that requires a child to cross a roadway, the school bus must be equipped with an extended stop arm that partially obstructs the roadway.
A school child may not cross a roadway to enter or exit from a school bus unless the roadway has been partially obstructed by the extended stop arm. 61-8-351, MCA.
Extended Stop Arm must:
- Be equipped with additional flashing red lights as specified in 61-8-351(5)(b) and 61-9-402, MCA.
- Be capable of extending a distance of at least 54 inches from the school bus.
- Be at a height of not less than 36 inches.
- Extended Stop Arm should have an additional illuminated stop sign located at the furthest distance from the school bus.
These new requirements and modifications will have an impact when performing the semi-annual school bus inspections by Montana Highway Patrol Officers. In addition, the TR-13 Bus Inspection Form is in the process of being fully revised and will be available by the effective date of July 1, 2022.
School districts have the option of using their Transportation Fund (10) or Bus Depreciation Fund (11) for the purchase of the additional safety equipment.
For questions regarding the new requirements and bus standards, please contact Donell Rosenthal at (406) 461-9316.
FY 2022 Semester 2 Transportation Reimbursement Claims
By May 24th school districts must electronically enter and submit Bus Route Reimbursement Claims (TR6) and Individual Contract Reimbursement Claims (TR5) in the Pupil Transportation System.
School districts will receive state and county transportation reimbursement based on actual days for all routes operated for transporting eligible riders from home to school.
(20-10-145, MCA).
NOTE: If school districts experienced unplanned school closures, or routes were not run anytime within the semester, districts may not claim for reimbursement for those days.
Individual transportation contract claims will be reimbursed for each day of school attendance for the student and for actual miles transported.
Once the school district has submitted reimbursement claims, a signed copy by the board chair must be sent to the county superintendent.
By June 1st County superintendents must review and electronically approve the TR-5 and TR-6 claims for the second semester.
The state transportation reimbursements for second semester will be made with the June 2022 payment.
Upon receipt of electronic state payment notice, the county superintendent orders the disbursement of county reimbursement for second semester transportation based on state reimbursement.
If you have questions or require assistance entering and submitting the second semester transportation reimbursement claims, please contact Donell Rosenthal at (406) 461-9316.
Bus Driver Certificate TR35
School bus drivers must hold a valid Montana School Bus Driver Certificate (TR35) in order for a district to receive state reimbursement.
Qualifications for bus drivers are prescribed by 20-10-103, MCA, and by the Board of Public Education in ARM 10.64.201. The bus driver certificate forms are provided and must be maintained electronically in the Pupil Transportation System.
The chair of the board of trustees must sign the certificate which is issued to a driver who is authorized and qualified to drive a school bus pursuant to all applicable rules, regulations, and laws. The district retains a current copy of each bus driver's certificate, provides a copy to the bus service contractor, if applicable, and files a copy with the county superintendent. The bus driver is required to always carry a current and valid hard copy of the certificate while driving a school bus.
If you have questions regarding Bus Driver Qualifications, please contact Donell Rosenthal at (406) 461-9316.
School Year 2022-23 Changes
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STRUCTURE CHANGES: School districts with changes to operating status, grade level configurations, school/district name, etc., for the 2022-23 school year should contact the OPI as soon as possible. Please send official notice of these change requests, on district letterhead, signed by the Authorized Representative, to the School Finance email at opischoolfinance@mt.gov.
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PERSONNEL CHANGES: Changes to the board chair, clerk/business manager, superintendent, or principal should be reported to OPI Contacts. Instructions for how to make these changes are found here: Instructions. If you have questions about how to complete the updates, please contact CentralUpdates@mt.gov.
ESSA Reporting - Fiscal Year 2022 ESSA Per Pupil Data and Validations
The Federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires school-based expenditure reporting. This guidance is designed to help districts comply with statewide uniformity to fulfill the federal requirements created in 34 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) § 200.35. District compliance is essential for Federal compliance. The federal law requires all districts to report expenditures by SC, regardless of enrollment, the number of school buildings, or location.
The OPI has limited authority to make changes to the district’s financial records after the Trustees’ Financial Summary (TFS) report has been approved by the Board of Trustees and County Superintendent of Schools. All expenditures, including mandatory ESSA entries, are the responsibility of the district. The allowable circumstances in which the OPI can make changes to the TFS are prescribed in ARM 10.10.504.
All Local Education Agencies (LEAs) report per-pupil expenditure data at the school or LEA level, including allocations of district wide expenditures to the school level. Expenditures are disaggregated by the source of (revenues) funds (state, local, and federal). School level expenditure reporting is submitted to the OPI in MAEFAIRS, which publishes the information in the Montana Report Card as mandated by ESSA reporting requirements.
LEAs with only one designated SC are the only LEAs that do not have to allocate expenditures by SC. If the LEA is designated as the Prime Agency for expenditures in the School Food Service Fund (12), Miscellaneous Programs Fund (15), and the Interlocal Agreement Fund (82) those expenditures will be reported separately in the TFS. The TFS data entry will allocate the expenditure to the appropriate entity or LEA.
Please contact your software vendor for guidance on setting up school codes in your accounting system. This is a very important step and the OPI is encouraging school districts to work with their software vendors. The following software vendors have provided their contact information:
Black Mountain Software
Please contact support@blackmountainsoftware.com or call the support line
at 1-800-353-8829.
C and C Accounting
Please contact David Bardwell at 877-318-0837 or help@candcschoolaccounting.com.
Tyler Technologies/ Infinite Visions
Enter a ticket online through the support portal at https://www.tylertech.com/client-support/Infinite-Visions-support# [tylertech.com] and you will be contacted by the support department, or call the support line at 888.654.3293.
