Policy 701.03: Financial Records	Status: APPROVED
Original Adopted Date: 03/10/2022 | Last Revised Date: 01/10/2024 | Last Reviewed Date: 01/10/2024

 

Financial records of the school district are maintained in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) as required or modified by law.  School district monies are received and expended from the appropriate fund and/or account.  The funds and accounts of the school district will include, but not be limited to:

Governmental Fund Type

• General Fund  - This fund is the chief operating fund of the district. It is used to account for all financial resources except those accounted for and reported in another fund.
• Special Revenue Fund - These funds account for the proceeds of specific revenue sources other than trusts or major capital projects, that are legally restricted or committed to expenditure for specified purposes other than debt service or capital projects.   
  
  • Management Levy Fund
  • Public Education and Recreation Levy Fund (PERL)
  • Student activity Fund
• Capital Projects Fund - These funds are used to account for financial resources to acquire or construct major capital facilities or other capital assets (other than those of proprietary funds and trust funds) and to account for revenues from SAVE.
  
  • Physical Plant and Equipment Levy Fund (PPEL)
  • Secure and Advanced Vision for Education (SAVE)
• Debt Service Fund – This fund is used to account for the accumulation of resources for, and the payment of, general long-term debt principal and interest.  

Proprietary Fund Type – These funds account for operations of the school district operated similar to private business for which a fee is charged to external users for goods or services, or they account for the costs of providing goods and services provided by one department to other departments on a cost reimbursement basis.  

• Enterprise Fund
  
  • School Nutrition Fund
  • Child Care Fund
  • Internal Service Fund
  • Community Education
  • Preschool (nonvoluntary, state)

Fiduciary Funds-These funds are used to account for monies or assets held by the school district on behalf of, or in trust for, another entity.   

• Trust
  
  • Expendable Trust Funds
  • Nonexpendable Trust Funds
  • Pension Trust Funds
• Custodial Funds 

Non-Fiduciary Scholarship Fund

Account Groups- The groups are the accounting records for capital assets and long-term debt.

• General capital assets account group
• General long-term debt account group

The board may establish other funds in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and may certify other taxes to be levied for the funds as provided by state law.  The status of each fund must be included in the annual report. 

It is the responsibility of the superintendent in conjunction with the school business official to implement this policy and bring necessary changes in the maintenance of the school district's financial records to the attention of the board.

 

NOTE: The list of funds above does not include the "Library levy fund," which is only available to one school district.  The school district eligible to levy the library levy must add this fund to its policy. 

 

 

 

Legal Reference:

Iowa Code §§291; 298; 298A. 281 I.A.C. 98

 

I.C. Iowa Code	Description
Iowa Code  § 291	Board Officers
Iowa Code  § 298A	School District Fund Structure
I.A.C. Iowa Administrative Code	Description
281 I.A.C. 98	Education - Categorical Funding

Cross References

Code	Description
701.02	Transfer of Funds
701.04	Governmental Accounting Practices & Regulations
802.04	Capital Assets
802.04-R(1)	Capital Assets  - Regulation
802.04-R(2)	Capital Assets  - Management System Definitions

 

 

Policy 701.01: Depository of Funds	Status: APPROVED
Original Adopted Date: 08/11/1975 | Last Revised Date: 02/12/2024 | Last Reviewed Date: 02/12/2024

 

Each year at its annual meeting, the board will designate by resolution the name and location of the Iowa located financial depository institution or institutions to serve as the official school district depository or depositories.   The board will also designate the maximum amount which may be kept on deposit in each bank.  This amount will be designated the first time a new depository is identified and will be reviewed at least once every five (5) years or when an increase or additional depository is needed. The amount stated in the resolution must be for all depositories and include all of the school district's funds.

It is the responsibility of the board secretary to include the resolution in the minutes of the meeting.
 

Note:  While this policy is not mandatory, the content of it is. The requirement to review the amount designated is not a legal requirement but is a best practice.  Districts have flexibility in determining how frequently to review this.  

 

Legal Reference:

Iowa Code §§ 12C2; 279.33

 

 

I.C. Iowa Code	Description
Iowa Code  § 12C.2	Deposit of Public Funds - Approval
Iowa Code § 279.33	Directors - Powers and Duties - Annual Settlements

Cross References

Code	Description
206.03	Secretary (I, II)
206.04	Treasurer
210.01	Annual Meeting
702	Cash in School Buildings
704.01	Local - State - Federal - Miscellaneous Revenue

 

Policy 701.02: Transfer of Funds	Status: APPROVED
Original Adopted Date: 08/11/1975 | Last Revised Date: 02/12/2024 | Last Reviewed Date: 02/12/2024

When the necessity for a fund has ceased to exist, the balance may be transferred to another fund or account by board resolution. School district monies received without a designated purpose may be transferred in this manner. School district monies received for a specific purpose or upon vote of the people may only be transferred, by board resolution when the purpose for which the monies were received has been completed.  Voter approval is required to transfer monies to the general fund from the capital projects fund and debt service fund.

If all requirements for district use of funds under the Preschool Foundation Aid, Professional Development Supplement, Home School Assistance Program, Teacher Leadership Supplement or any discontinued fund teacher  have been met and funds remain unexpended and unobligated at the end of the fiscal year, the district may transfer all or a portion of remaining funds by passage of a board resolution into the district’s flexibility account in accordance with law.  Before the expenditure of amounts in the flexibility account, the district shall publish notice of the time, date, and place of a public hearing on the proposed resolution approving said expenditures. The board must find and certify that the statutory requirements of each original source of funds have been met before adopting the resolution approving the expenditures. The district will present a copy of the signed board resolution to the Department of Education.

The District may transfer by board resolution from the general fund to the student activity fund an amount needed to purchase or refurbish protective and safety equipment required for any extracurricular interscholastic athletic contest or competition sponsored or administered by the Iowa High School Athletic Association of Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union.

If the before and after school program exceeds the amount necessary to operate the program, the excess amount may, following a public hearing, be transferred by resolution of the board of directors of the school corporation for deposit in the general fund of the school corporation to be used for school district general fund purposes. The district will present a copy of the signed board resolution to the Department of Education.

Beginning in FY 2024, unexpended and unobligated dollars that remain at the end of a fiscal year in addition to ongoing revenues may be transferred to the Teacher Salary Supplement (TSS) program from Professional Development Supplement (PDS), Talented and Gifted (TAG), and Teacher Leadership Supplement (TLS) without board action.

The district may choose to request approval from the School Budget Review Committee to transfer funds to make a program whole, prior to its elimination. 

Temporary transfers (loans) of funds are permitted between funds but must be repaid to the originating fund, with interest, by Oct. 1 following the end of the fiscal year. 

It is the responsibility of the board secretary to make recommendations to the board regarding transfers and to provide the documentation justifying the transfer.

 

Legal Reference:

Iowa Code §§ 24.21-.22; 257.10, 279.8; 279.42; 298A. 289 I.A.C. 6

 

 

I.C. Iowa Code	Description
Iowa Code  § 24	Local Budgets
Iowa Code  § 257.10	District Cost Per Pupil
Iowa Code  § 279.42	Directors - Powers and Duties-Gifts to Schools
Iowa Code  § 279.8	Directors - General Rules - Bonds of Employees
Iowa Code  § 298A	School District Fund Structure
I.A.C. Iowa Administrative Code	Description
289 I.A.C. 6	School Budget Review - Duties and Procedures

Cross References

Code	Description
701.03	Financial Records
704.02	Debt Management
704.02-R(1)	Debt Management - Post-Issuance Compliance Regulation for Tax-Exempt Obligations