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State School Payments
The September State School Funding Payments for FY 2023 are posted at the following link: State School Payments
The October 26, 2022 payments include: Direct State Aid, Quality Educator Component, At Risk Component, Indian Education for All, Student Achievement Gap, Data for Achievement, and Special Education.
If you have questions regarding payments, please contact Becky Belling (406) 444-2561
Changes to Trustees Financial Summary - Due Dec 10th
If you find a material coding error on your FY2022 Trustees Financial Summary (TFS), please scan, and submit your revision to the School Finance Division at OPISchoolFinance@mt.gov.
Questions can be directed to Andrea Mohammadi, Budget Analyst at 406-444-1960. Revisions can be mailed to: OPI School Finance, PO Box 202501, Helena, MT 59620-2501.
Please submit your revisions as soon as possible. The deadline for submitting revisions is December 10.
Fall ANB Count
Changes to the Fall ANB Count will be accepted through December 31, 2022. Please verify your student counts. Contract Andrea Mohammadi at (406) 444-1960 for instructions on submitting student count changes. Please do not send change requests via email.
Compensation Expenditure Reporting
MAEFAIRS is available to report the FY2023 Compensation Expenditure Report. The Compensation Expenditure report is due to the Office of Public Instruction (OPI) by December 10, 2022.
The FY 2022 Compensation Expenditure Reporting Instructions have been updated and are available on the OPI website.
If you have questions regarding Compensation Expenditure Reporting, please email OPISchoolFinance@mt.gov or contact Andrea Mohammadi at 406-444-1960.
For TEAMS/TOE information, contact Ellery Bresler at 406-444-2410.
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 report expenditures by SC, regardless of enrollment, number of school buildings, or location.
The OPI has limited authority to make changes in 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 LEA’s 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.
Individual Contracts (TR4)
By October 1st the county superintendent must electronically receive all individual transportation contracts (TR4s) for FY2023.
Individual Contracts that include isolation must first be approved by checking the County Approval check box prior to electronically marking the contract received.
For questions regarding Individual Contracts, 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) for a district to be eligible 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 must retain a current copy of each bus driver's certificate, provide a copy to the bus service contractor, if applicable, and file 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 Buses Assigned
School Buses that are inactive or no longer with a school district should be un-assigned from the school system.
For school buses that have been totaled or disposed of, please contact Donell Rosenthal or call (406) 461-9316 to exclude these buses from the lists.
Audit Letter for FY-2022
The annual letter to auditors has been revised and can be found on the OPI website by clicking this Audit link. The letter provides general information for the fiscal year 2022 regarding issues affecting Montana school district audits and special items the OPI would like auditors to review for compliance with statute and administrative rule. If you have questions, please contact or Kristen Becker by email or phone at 406-444-0701.
FY 2023 Elections
OPI School Finance Staff, in conjunction with Nicole Thuotte, AIM Unit Manager and MASBO will be doing the annual election training via Zoom. This training will be recorded, but districts are encouraged to join the original meeting and ask questions. The training will be conducted on Thursday, December 1. Registration is through MASBO (Election Training Registration) and links will be provided prior to the training.
The bi-weekly check-in meetings will also begin sooner this year – to give more opportunities for districts to ask questions and to update districts with legislative changes. There will be one check-in on December 16th to discuss candidate filing and update districts about potential legislation that will be introduced in the legislative session). Bi-weekly meetings will begin on January 6, 2023. A full schedule and links will be provided on the Election webpage soon.
The FY 2023 District Classification Report, the report of Districts Required to Report Campaign Finance, and the Election Handbook will be published soon. Please check the Election webpage for updates.
If you have any questions, please email OPISchoolFinance@mt.gov or call Andrea Mohammadi 444-1960 or Barbara Quinn 444-3249.
Tuition Forms - complete and entered into Maefairs
Student Attendance Agreements should be completed upon enrollment in a school (20-5-322, MCA). Students who are in foster or group homes outside of their resident district should be entered into MAEFAIRS as soon as they are approved by the attending district. This allows resident districts to review their obligations or dispute their status as resident district – facilitating payments due in the ensuing year. Please make sure to enter these agreements in a timely manner and run the reports set up for resident districts in MAEFAIRS. Please see the forms located under Tuition and Attendance.
FP14.2 Foster and Group Home Student Attendance Agreement
FP15 Day Treatment and Out of State Tuition
If you have any questions, please email OPISchoolFinance@mt.gov or call Andrea Mohammadi 444-1960 or Barbara Quinn 444-3249.
School Year 2022-23 Changes
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STRUCTURE CHANGES with an effective date of July 1, 2023: School districts with changes to operating status, grade level configurations, school/district name, etc., 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 board chair, clerk/business manager, superintendent, or principal must be changed in OPI Contacts. Instructions for how to make these changes are found here: Instructions. If you have question about how to complete the updates, please contact: CentralUpdates@mt.gov.
New to the School Finance Team
Autumn Belmont was born and raised in Boise, Idaho. After attending Boise State University and receiving a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and a Master of Science in Accounting and Taxation, I moved to Montana in January 2019 to start work at the Department of Revenue. I spent three and a half years in a couple different tax types at the Department of Revenue. I spend most my free time with my dogs and my friends. I look forward to moving forward in my career at OPI.
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Retirement
Dan Moody has been employed with the Office of Public Instruction since July 2017 and has served as the OPI Auditor during that time. The position was new when he was hired, and he immensely enjoyed developing the position. He was a friend to many and helped to build relationships in the field, with colleagues, and with other State agencies. Dan was born and raised in Montana but spent 25 years living in the Milwaukee Wisconsin area. He returned to Helena 6 years ago. Dan has 3 children whom he will spend more time with when he retires. Dan plans to move to Costa Rica where he will be closer to family. Dan’s last day will be October 31st.
The OPI is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to people with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation, require an alternate format, or have questions concerning accessibility, contact the OPI ADA Coordinator, 406-444-3161, opiada@mt.gov, Relay Service: 711.
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