School Finance Compass September 2023

Montana Office of Public Instruction sent this bulletin at 08/18/2023 05:23 PM MDT

State School Payments

The August State School Funding Payments for FY 2024 are posted at the following link: State School Payments

The August 28, 2023 payments include: Direct State Aid, Quality Educator Component, At Risk Component, Indian Education for All, Student Achievement Gap, Data for Achievement, Special Education, Technology, and Transportation Prepayment.

If you have questions regarding payments, please contact Laci Novark (406) 444-4401

FY2023 Monthly State School Payment reports are posted here.

FY2023 State School Payment summary reports are posted by County here.

State School Entitlements

The State School Funding Payments Entitlement for FY 2024 were posted at the following link: State School Payments>Entitlements

For more information, please contact: Autumn Belmont, Budget Analyst at (406) 444-9852.

School Finance Open Office Hours

The Office of Public Instruction (OPI) will be holding virtual open office hours, to work with Clerks and Superintendents with any questions they may have on the TFS or Budget. These meetings will cover a variety of pre-arranged topics and any questions that come up during the meeting. The meetings will be hosted by Amanda Zigan, Computer Support Specialist at the OPI.

The training will be held via Zoom two times per week. The Office Hours will occur through September as long as there is interest.

Meetings will be every Tuesday and Thursday. Please bring your questions. Audience participation is encouraged!

Tuesday afternoons: 1:00pm-3:00pm

Join Zoom Meeting https://mt-gov.zoom.us/j/85926241052?pwd=bUVVNFhRd1o2WC9QMkF1dGhNa0hJZz09

Meeting ID: 859 2624 1052 Password: 12345

Thursday mornings: 9:00am-11:00am

Join Zoom Meeting

https://mt-gov.zoom.us/j/81581528874?pwd=WkhCUnYzaENpbDBSc0xiY1JBS09GZz09

Meeting ID: 815 8152 8874

Password: 12345

FY2024 Budget Reporting

To access the Budget Instructions go to:

School Finance> Budgets> Budget Spreadsheet & Guidance> Budget Instructions

A checklist is provided on Page 5 of the instructions.

Once you have successfully completed the TFS, follow the steps below to access the Budget:

Click on the Data Entry tab
Hover your curser down to the Budget. Another menu box will slide open. Choose Step 1: Taxable Valuation.
Highlight your district or click on the Select All Districts button.

Once you complete each step, you may move on to the other Budget steps.

FY2024 Budget reports are due to the county superintendent within 3 days after the budget adoption meeting 20-9-131 MCA.

School districts must submit both the TFS and Budget reports electronically to the Office of Public Instruction no later than September 15, 2023.

Other helpful links include:

Budget Timeline

Historical TFS - Reference for past years TFS reports

TRS Employee Reports - Teachers Retirement Net Pension Liability

PERS Employee Reports - Public Employees Retirement Net Pension Liability

ESSER Consolidated Guidance – Accounting Guidance for ESSER TFS reporting

ESSER Expense and Revenue Comparison - ESSER Revenue and Expenditure Report by year

Preliminary Budget Data Reports - Preliminary Budget Data Sheets (PBDS)

For questions please contact:

Email School Finance at OPISchoolFinance@mt.gov

Autumn Belmont	(406) 444-9852
Andrea Mohammadi	(406) 444-1960
Laci Novark	(406) 444-4401
Barb Quinn	(406) 444-3249

Indian Education for All required coding

HB 338 Rep. Jonathan Windy Boy

Revise laws related to Indian Education for All

Chapter: 718 Effective Date: July 1, 2023

HB 338 amends sections 20-1-501, 20-1-502, 20-1-503, & 20-9-329, MCA, specifically, 20-1-503, MCA, is re-titled as Indian education for all, and is further modified stating the following:

Pursuant to Article X, section 1(2), of the Montana constitution, 20-1-501, 20-7-101, and 20-9-309, MCA, the board of public education shall incorporate the distinct and unique cultural heritage of Montana American Indians in the content standards that schools must implement as a requirement for school accreditation.

The superintendent shall include representatives of Montana Indian tribes on negotiated rulemaking committees formed pursuant to 20-7-101 addressing the development or revision of content standards.

Additional amendments have been included to section 20-9-329, MCA, or the Indian education for all payment to require that, in addition to the expenditure reporting of Indian education for all expenditures additional reporting requirements are to include the following detailed descriptions:

the instruction provided to certified personnel and students as required under 20-1-503, MCA; and
how this instruction was developed cooperatively with the advice and assistance of Montana tribes pursuant to Title 20, chapter 1, part 5.

It is further specified that a school district(s) that fails to file the annual report required is ineligible for Indian education for all funding for subsequent school fiscal years until the report is filed. If a school district files a report failing to show that all funds received under this section were spent for the purposes of the requirements of Indian education for all the school district's BASE budget and funding under this section for the subsequent fiscal year must be reduced by the amount of funding received that was not spent for the purposes of Indian education for all.

Revenue Codes for Indian Education for All: 01-3113.

Expenditure coding for Indian Education for All: 01-365-XXXX-XXX.

Transformation Learning coding requirements.

HB 257 Rep. Courtenay Sprunger

Revise education laws related to advanced opportunities program

Chapter: 574 Effective Date: July 1, 2023

HB 257 amends sections 20-7-1503 & 20-7-1506, MCA, modifying the funding formula for advanced opportunities aid payments to K-12 school districts as follows:

Elementary districts qualify for 4.5% of the district’s prior year total quality educator payment.
High school districts qualify for 30% of the district’s prior year total quality educator payment.
K-12 districts qualify for 18% of the district’s prior year total quality educator payment.

Additional amendments include modification on the limit for the number of districts who qualify for advanced opportunities aid to now be based on the appropriation however distributions continue to be limited to the total appropriation authority. The percentage of a district's annual distribution of advanced opportunity aid to be spent to address a pupil’s out-of-pocket costs adjusts from 60% to 75%. Language is expanded for permissible district expenditures of these funds to include costs of participation for qualifying pupils in out-of-school enrichment activities that, in the discretion of the trustees, advance the pupil's opportunity for postsecondary career and educational success.

HB 257 provides an annual appropriation of $4.0 million from the state general fund for the distribution of advanced opportunity aid.

Revenue Codes for Transformational Learning: 29-3760.

Expenditure coding for Transformational Learning: 29-376-XXXX-XXX.

Additional Information for Transformational Learning

SB 8 Sen. Shannon O'Brien

Revise transformational learning program laws

Chapter: 307 Effective Date: July 1, 2023

SB 8 revises laws related to personalized and transformational learning by defining "proficiency-based learning" and revising eligibility requirements for transformational learning aid payments.

Section 20-7-1601, MCA, is amended to include a definition of proficiency & an expansion of the definition of proficiency-based learning. These apply to the transformational learning program and are stated as follows:

“Proficiency" means a measure of competence that is demonstrated through application in a performance assessment.

and

“Proficiency-based learning” means an education system in which student progress is based on a student’s demonstration of competence rather than on the basis of seat time or the age or grade level of the student.

Section 20-7-1602, MCA, is amended requiring that district's definition of proficiency within the meaning of the term as used in 20-9-311(4)(d), MCA. The definition must be incorporated in the district's policies and must be used for purposes of determining content and course proficiency and other progress, promotion from grade to grade, grades, and graduation for pupils enrolled in the district's transformational learning program. The district must also describe the district's plans for the implementation of proficiency-based learning as defined in 20-7-1601, MCA.

Additional amendments require districts to expend transformational learning revenue within a two-year period.

A final inclusion states that the board of public education or designee shall review the applications of school districts with first-time applications that are unfunded and on the waiting list to determine whether the district's application meets the requirements under 20-7-1602(2) as amended. If a district's application does not meet the requirements, the board shall remove the district from the waiting list. It is also stated that a district removed from the waiting list may reapply.

Other legislation that affects Advance Opportunity, Transformational Learning, and Innovative Educational Donations

HB 946 Rep. David Bedey

Implement provisions of HB2 - Section E-education

Chapter: 745 Effective Date: July 1, 2023

HB 946 amends sections 20-5-101 & 20-7-117, MCA,

New section 4 applies to the OPI and extends data collections associated with the following programs:

Advanced Opportunity grant program under 20-7-1506, MCA shall report for each participating school district:

The total amount of funding received
The total amount expended

For each opportunity afforded to a student:

A description of the opportunity
Whether the opportunity was afforded within the school or was an out-of-school experience
The number of students participating in the opportunity
The funds expended on the opportunity

Revenue code for Advanced Opportunity Aid: 29-3770

Expenditure codes for Advanced Opportunity Aid: 29-377-XXXX-XXX

Transformational Learning grant program under 20-7-1601, MCA, shall report for each participating school district:

The total amount of funding received
The total amount expended
A description of the transformational activities being provided through the program
The metrics used for evaluating the effectiveness of each transformational activity
An assessment of the effectiveness of each transformational activity
Future plans for each transformational activity

Innovative Educational Donations made pursuant to 15-30-3111, MCA, shall report by September 1, 2023, and by September 1, 2024, the following:

For a public school district:

The name of the school district receiving a donation
The total amount of donations received by the school district in the current fiscal year
How those donations were used by that public school district

For each nonpublic school entity:

The name of the entity and its address
The total amount of donations received by the entity in the current fiscal year
How those donations were used by that entity
The amount of funds retained for covering overhead costs by the entity that administered the program

Revenue code for Innovative Educational Donations: 15-1925

Expenditure codes for Innovative Educational Donations: 15-192-XXXX-XXX

Compensation Expenditures Reporting

Compensation Expenditures reporting is a process set up to assist schools with their responsibilities to be transparent with the use of public funds in accordance with 20-7-104, MCA. This reporting collects and reports information pertaining to all salaries paid to employees in the district in a fiscal year. Compensation Expenditure reports must be submitted by December 10th for the previous fiscal year’s data. Districts will be required to complete the compensation expenditures in TEAMS to finalize the fiscal year 2023 process. You will need to log into TEAMS to complete, this will be located at the bottom of the System tab called “Compensation Expenditure TOE.”

If you do not have access to TEAMS or are having troubles logging in, please contact OPITEAMS@mt.gov.

FY 2024 County Treasurer’s Reporting Form FB6b – Due August 15^th

The County Treasurer’s Report of Countywide School Funds (county data) is due to the Office of Public Instruction by a statutory deadline of August 15, 2023, for the fiscal year ending 2023. A template of the report, “FY2023 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 (FP6b)
Joint District Basic Data (FP8a)
Joint District Tax Levy Summary (FP8b)

For more information, please contact Autumn Belmont, Budget Analyst at (406) 444-9852.

TFS and Budget due - September 15^th

A completed, printed, and signed copy of the FY2023 TFS is due to the county superintendent by August 15th. The FY2024 Budget report is due to the county superintendent within three days after the budget adoption meeting per 20-9-131, MCA.

School districts must then submit both reports electronically to the Office of Public Instruction no later than September 15.

For more information, please contact Andrea Mohammadi at 406-444-1960 or email OPISchoolFinance@mt.gov.

County Transportation/Retirement Fund Mill Levy Calculation - FP10a due Sept 15^th

The FP 10a County Transportation/Retirement Fund Mill Levy Calculation is due to the Office of Public Instruction by September 15, 2023, for fiscal year 2024. The FP 10a is submitted on the OPI County application through the OPI Secure Portal.

FP10a instructions can be found on OPI’s website, County.

For more information, please contact Laci Novark, Budget Analyst, 406-444-4401 or Autumn Belmont, Budget Analyst at (406) 444-9852.

OPI Application Access Guides for NEW Clerks and Superintendents

The OPI has information for new:

District Clerks
District Superintendents
County Superintendents

To assist in getting set up with their new roles. Please see the documents located on the School Finance webpage.

For more information, please contact Amanda Zigan, Computer Support Specialist at (406) 444-3096.

FY 2024 Special Education Cooperative Reports

The Office of Public Instruction (OPI) has posted the FY 2024 Special Education Allowable Cost Funding Cooperative Final report at the following link: State School Payments (mt.gov).

For more information, please contact Autumn Belmont, Budget Analyst at (406) 444-9852.

ESSA Reporting - Fiscal Year 2023 ESSA Per Pupil Data

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. 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 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 LEA’s that do not have to allocate expenditures. 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.

For more information, please contact Andrea Mohammadi, Business Analyst, Laci Novark, Budget Analyst, 406-444-4401.

School Data Error Correction Request form - TFS Changes, ESSA Changes or other Revisions submitted to the OPI

The Office of Public Instruction (OPI) has a form to be completed when changes are made to financial related data. The School Data Error Correction Request form can be found on the School Finance website and at the link above.

Please complete the following actions.

Fill out the form with the necessary information and the appropriate signatures.
Submit the Request form and the changes to the OPI – Requests for changes can be mailed, faxed, or scanned and emailed. All completed requests must be received by the OPI no later than December 10 (ARM 10.10.504). Changes can be made for:
- material revisions that do not impact fund balance of budgeted funds.
- Revisions in balance sheet accounts, provided no change occurs in the fund balance of budgeted funds.
- ESSA reporting is due with the submission of the TFS. Only minor changes to ESSA Per Pupil expenditures will be allowed.
- Please refer to the TFS instructions for additional information.
The OPI will notify the school when the corrections are done. The school is responsible for verifying that changes have been made accurately and must send confirmation to the OPI.

For more information, please contact Barbara Quinn, School Finance Senior Manager, 406-444-3249.

In-State Facility Tuition Claims – End of Year

Under 20-7-435, MCA, resident districts are responsible for a portion of the education costs for students in state facilities. The state facility must invoice the resident district for any tuition obligation no later than August 15^th. Payments from the resident districts are due by December 31^st for the 1^st half and by June 15^th for the 2^nd half. Resident districts may run a report in MAEFAIRS at any time to see claims that have been submitted. These reports should not be viewed as actual invoices from the facility, but rather an opportunity to review submitted claims. The report may be found in Maefairs under Views>Tuition>State Facilities Tuition District of Residence.

For more information, please contact: Andrea Mohammadi, Business Analyst, (406) 444-1960 or Barbara Quinn, School Finance Senior Manager, 406-444-3249.

Tuition Forms for Foster/Group Home (FP 14.2) - Completed and Entered to Maefairs

Student Attendance Agreements should be completed upon enrollment in a school per 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 verify their status as resident district – payments are due in the ensuing year. Please make sure to enter these agreements in a timely manner and run the Maefairs reports for resident districts. Please see the forms located under Tuition and Attendance.

For more information, please contact Andrea Mohammadi, Business Analyst, (406) 444-1960 or Barbara Quinn, School Finance Senior Manager, 406-444-3249.

October 2, 2023– Fall Student Count Due

The official fall count day is Monday, October 2^nd, 2023. You may import data once Aggregate Hours are entered in AIM (Infinite Campus). District staff should verify the enrollment and absences in Infinite Campus prior to importing and submitting their student count data in MAEFAIRS.

To access MAEFAIRS, CLICK HERE.

The MAEFAIRS web application is ready for Fall Student Count for ANB importing from AIM. The instructions may be found HERE.

For more information, please contact Andrea Mohammadi, Business Analyst, (406) 444-1960.

In District Special Education Permissive Tuition Levy

The updated spreadsheet for FY2024 has been posted to the OPI Webpage and may be found here: Tuition and Attendance (mt.gov).

For more information, please contact Andrea Mohammadi, Business Analyst, (406) 444-1960 or Barbara Quinn, School Finance Senior Manager, 406-444-3249.

Semester 1 School Bus Inspections

Montana Highway Patrol shall perform the first semiannual inspection of school buses at least 30 days prior to the beginning of the school term and re-inspect the buses, if necessary, before the beginning of the school term.

School districts are responsible for contacting the Montana Highway Patrol for bus inspections. Buses that are placed in operation after the school semester has begun must be inspected and approved by the Montana Highway Patrol before the bus is operated on the established route.

Inspection Forms for FY2024 can be accessed through the Pupil Transportation System and must be entered electronically upon completion of the inspections.