BOE_MonRpt_04212008
Internal Monitoring Report
GLOBAL POLICY PROHIBITION: With respect to the actual, ongoing financial condition and activities, the Superintendent shall not cause or allow the development of fiscal jeopardy or a material deviation of actual expenditures from board priorities established in Ends policies.
INTERPRETATION: I will oversee the fiscal operations of the district so as to insure financial stability. As board priorities are further established in Ends policies, I will ensure that district funds are expended in pursuit of those priorities. I interpret current priorities as those activities set forth in the annual budget as approved by the board in October 2007 (the 2007-08 budget).
This report constitutes my assurance that, as reasonably interpreted, these conditions (Global Policy Prohibition) have not occurred, and further that the data submitted below are accurate as of this date, April 21, 2008.
Signed ________________________, Superintendent
1. POLICY PROHIBITION: The Superintendent shall not expend more funds than have been received in the fiscal year to date unless the liquidity requirement and long-term reserve below are met.
INTERPRETATION: I shall ensure that expenditures do not exceed revenue year-to-date unless we have cash reserves necessary to meet operating expenditures over a 30-day period. Long-term reserves are not addressed in board policy, but I interpret this as referring to year-end carry-over funds. The ideal has been to have carry-over reserves for 3 months of expenditures, though this is usually not the case.
Through March 31, 2008 we have received $1,632,306.12 and spent $1,697,205.10. Taking into account the beginning fund balance of $757,348.27, plus other, encumbrances and payables, we have an unencumbered general fund balance of $578,971.30. It costs approximately $150,000 to run the district for a 30-day period, therefore I am reporting compliance with this policy. (Our cash reserves are down by $40,095.76 from where we were at this time last year, $578,971.30 compared to $619,067.06.) Keeping in mind that 95% of local tax revenues are received between February and June, and that we have made grant expenditures that have not been reimbursed by March 31, 2008, I am reporting sound fiscal condition for the district at this time. Our available fund balance of $578,971.30 is greater than the projected ending fund balance of $414,759 as approved in the 2007-2008 budget. Our projected fund balance of $414,759 continues to be projected at that amount.
2. POLICY PROHIBITION: The Superintendent shall not allow cash and cash equivalents to drop below the amount necessary to meet operating expenditures over a 30-day period.
INTERPRETATION: I will ensure that we have at least 30-days operating revenue in reserve. I interpret “cash equivalents” as investments such as savings bonds or stocks, which we do not have. All district liquidity is in cash.
We currently have more than 30-days of operating revenue. (See EL-5.1)
3. POLICY PROHIBITION: The Superintendent shall not allow tax payments or other government ordered payments or filings to be overdue or inaccurately filed and shall not allow the organization to incur penalties in material amounts due to late filings.
INTERPRETATION: The only tax payments we have are the monthly payroll taxes. Filings include a variety of electronic transfers and other reports required by government entities, primarily the Colorado Department of Education. In a $2,800,000 budget, I interpret “material amounts” to mean approximately $5,000.
We continue to be in compliance with this policy. Our payroll taxes are paid immediately after payroll each month. Our reports to CDE are accurate and on time. We have not incurred any penalties.
4. POLICY PROHIBITION: The Superintendent shall not acquire, encumber or dispose of real property.
INTERPRETATION: I cannot purchase or sell, or enter into a contract to purchase or sell, land or buildings on behalf of the school district.
With the authorization of the Board I have been able to purchase several small lots adjacent to Moffat School in hopes of improving the play field. We are still pursuing one additional lot, but the owner is not interested in selling at this time. They did grant us an easement to continue using the property as we have been doing for years, and this has been recorded with the Saguache County clerk. I am in compliance with this policy.
5. POLICY PROHIBITION: The Superintendent shall not fail to aggressively pursue receivables after a reasonable grace period.
INTERPRETATION: I interpret “aggressively pursue” as communicating through conversations, letters, or a collection agency, depending on the situation. “Receivables” refer most often to lunch bills, but could include library fines, textbook replacement, athletic costs, grants, refunds, etc. A “reasonable grace period” varies according to amount owed and the particular situation.
We are dealing appropriately with the lunch bills that remain outstanding. We send out monthly statements to families with a balance. If the balance continues to grow through the year, we continue to send statements and suggest setting up a payment plan. Turning bills over to a collection agency is a last resort and one that does not work with our small amount of outstanding bills. We continue to provide lunch to students even if they owe money for lunch. We do not however, release year-end report cards or issue graduation diplomas if money is still owed the school(s). We are now requesting parents to sign a written agreement that both allows us to charge their lunch account and states their agreement to pay any outstanding charges within thirty days. I recently requested a resolution from the BOE to write-off of the books the older accounts that we do not have any chance of collecting. I am reporting compliance with this policy.
6. POLICY PROHIBITION: The Superintendent shall not allow bond funds to be spent inefficiently or in any way other than intended.
INTERPRETATION: Bond funds are the proceeds from bond sales authorized through a general or special election for a particular purpose. I interpret “inefficiently” as failing to put contracts out to competitive bidding, failing to carefully monitor contractor work, or in any way failing to insure the integrity of how bond funds are spent.
We do not have any bond funds to spend at this time. We are in the processing of paying off our bond debt from remodeling and building the addition to Moffat School in 1995-96. We occasionally have been able to pay back ahead of schedule, e.g., this year we paid $95,000 extra in order to reduce the principal owed, thereby saving us interest. I am reporting compliance.
7. POLICY PROHIBITION: The Superintendent shall not achieve compliance with these provisions by endangering future capacity to accomplish ends.
INTERPRETATION: I interpret this as meaning I cannot provide for the district today by encumbering the district far into the future.
I have not entered into any unreasonable long-term leases or excessive multi-year contracts for goods or services. I am reporting compliance.
8. POLICY PROHIBITION: The Superintendent shall not commit revenues due to student enrollment growth to continuing line-items or program expenditures without considering needs associated with opening of new schools.
INTERPRETATION: I interpret this policy to mean that should we find ourselves with a considerable increase in student enrollment, I may not commit the revenue associated with those additional students to continued funding of existing programs or expenditures without first considering whether putting those additional funds towards a new school, or needs associated with opening a new school, would be more appropriate.
The district FTE for 2007-08 is 201 (before averaging), down from 2006-07 by 2.5 (October 2006 count 203.5; October 2005 count 213.5; October 2004 count 190.5; October 2003 count 194.5). We are not experiencing the student enrollment growth as a district to consider opening a new district school, therefore this policy is not an issue at this time. I am therefore reporting compliance with this policy.
Please see the attached reports: Year-to-Date Cash Summary for 2007-08 and 2006-07 for comparison, Year-to-Date Expense, Year-to-Date Revenue, and Current Cash Balance for Activity Funds.
GLOBAL POLICY PROHIBITION: With respect to employment, compensation, and benefits to employees, consultants, contract workers and volunteers, the Superintendent shall not cause or allow jeopardy to fiscal integrity or to public image.
INTERPRETATION: I shall ensure “fiscal integrity” and a positive “public image,” meaning that with respect to hiring, compensation, and benefits the district shall be fair and within budgetary limits and shall be perceived as such.
I am reporting compliance with this policy.
Signed_________________________, Superintendent
Date: April 21, 2008
1. POLICY PROHIBITION: The Superintendent shall not change his or her own compensation and benefits, except as his or her benefits are consistent with a package for all other employees.
INTERPRETATION: The Superintendent cannot give him or herself a raise in compensation or benefits except as consistent with that done for other employees, and in all cases may not do so without Board approval.
The Superintendent’s contract is negotiated between the Superintendent and the Board of Education, and the Superintendent does not have the authority to alter his or her compensation or benefits. When the final 2007-08 budget was approved by the board at the October 2007 Board meeting, it included a 3.0% salary increase for the Superintendent and for all other employees not on a salary schedule. (Employees on a salary schedule received a 3.0% increase on the base.) This was discussed with the Board prior to the Board vote. The district has been working towards having the Superintendent’s salary and that of other certificated (teachers, administrators, counselor) and classified (support) staff be more in line with the other San Luis Valley salaries. I believe we are making positive strides in that direction. The contract with the incoming Superintendent will be consistent with this policy. I am reporting compliance with this policy.
2. POLICY PROHIBITION: The Superintendent shall not promise or imply permanent or guaranteed employment.
INTERPRETATION: Hiring practices must be applied consistently, including such procedures as advertising, interviewing with consistent questions, etc. Continuation of employment is subject to evaluation and funding.
All prospective employees go through consistent hiring procedures. We have policies in place re: employee evaluation and riffing (Reduction in Force). I have not promised anyone permanent or guaranteed employment. We are considering the possibility of reducing one full-time position to half-time due to low student enrollment. The teacher that this would impact has been informed of this possibility. I am reporting compliance with this policy.
3. POLICY PROHIBITION: The Superintendent shall not establish current compensation and benefits that deviate materially from the geographic or professional market for the skills employed.
INTERPRETATION: District compensation and benefits shall be in line with the compensation and benefits of other districts in our area and similar in size.
Based upon our most recent statewide compensation and benefits survey for both certified and non-certified employees of districts approximately the same size as Moffat, Moffat School District ranks approximately in the middle of those districts that responded. Among the fourteen San Luis Valley districts Moffat continues to rank in the middle in terms of teacher base salary. We are towards the lower end for classified salaries. Attached to this monitoring report are the current salary scales for Moffat certified and classified employees, which were adjusted up 3.0% on the base after the October 2007 student count, as well as a listing of local districts’ classified salaries. I am reporting compliance with this policy.
4. POLICY PROHIBITION: The Superintendent shall not create obligations over a longer term than revenues can be safely projected, in no event longer than one year and in all events subject to losses in revenue.
INTERPRETATION: I can only budget for one year at a time and based upon accurate revenue projections.
Our budget is initially based upon projections of funded student enrollment, as well as other revenue sources, to the best of our ability to predict, given recent trends, one year at a time. The final budget is then adjusted with greater accuracy after the actual October 1st student count. There are administrative policies in place--“Reduction in Professional Staff Work Force” (GCQA) and “Reduction in Force” (GDQA)--should losses in revenue require a reduction in the work force. The final 2007-08 budget, approved in October 2007, projects obligations that are safely covered by projected revenues. We continue to be very conservative in our budgeting and are in the process of creating the 2008-09 budget. We do not anticipate any rescission in state education funding for the next school year. At this time the state is projecting a 3.2% increase on the base PPOR. I am reporting compliance with this policy.
5. POLICY PROHIBITION: The Superintendent shall not establish or change benefits so as to cause unpredictable or inequitable situations, including those that:
a.Incur unfunded liabilities.
b.Provide less than some basic level of benefits to all full time employees, though differential benefits to encourage longevity are not prohibited.
c.Allow any employee to lose benefits already accrued from any foregoing plan.
d.Treat the Superintendent differently from other key employees.
INTERPRETATION: I cannot establish or change benefits thereby creating liabilities not funded in the budget. I interpret “basic level of benefits” as offering a fringe benefit amount that can be used toward a variety of possibilities and in line with what other similar size districts offer; I am not prohibited from offering additional benefits or a different benefit package to encourage employees to continue employment for a greater length of time. If the benefit plan offered should change, employees should not lose benefits already gained from a previous plan or prior situation. The Superintendent’s benefits should not be changed so as to create an unfair or inappropriate situation compared to other similar level employees. I interpret “key employees” as other administrators.
Currently all benefits offered are adequately funded in our budget.
All full-time employees, certified and classified, receive the same benefit package. We do not offer differential benefits to encourage longevity. The Moffat School Principal receives the additional benefit of paid family medical insurance. The Superintendent receives paid family medical, dental and vision insurance and, as negotiated with the Board, receives the use of a district vehicle, though this is considered as taxable compensation except when used on school business.
Currently our benefit package for full-time employees includes single health insurance coverage through the SLV Combined Educators Insurance Group, at $343 per month or $4,116 per year. (Employees who choose not to join the medical plan do not receive the benefit in cash. Employees hired prior to March 2000 do have the option of not being on the medical plan and using that fringe amount any way they choose, e.g., adding it to their salary, putting it in an annuity, joining the offered dental or vision plan, etc.) The medical insurance premium is projected to increase by about 10% next year. Employees also receive a $15,000 life insurance policy, short-term income protection and nine days personal leave (six of which may be cashed out at the base of the salary schedule, or approximately $1,000). The Superintendent, who is on a 12-month contract, receives 1 personal day per month and 4 weeks of paid vacation, as negotiated with the Board. Since I am officially retiring and in my last year, I am on a 10 month contract, through June 30, 2008. I am reporting compliance with this policy.
