Concurrent Enrollment ADA Changes

TO:  Business Officials, Selected Districts
     Business Managers, Selected Districts
     School District Auditors

FROM:  Xxxxxx County Office of Education

SUBJECT:  Concurrent Enrollment ADA Changes

Senate Bill 292 (Costa, D-Fresno) was signed into law by Governor Wilson on July 26, 1996. This bill changes apportionment attendance for concurrently enrolled pupils in college courses so that full apportionment may now be claimed. Previously, only 3/4 ADA funding could be claimed for students enrolled part-time in college courses. SB 292 contained an urgency measure making its provisions effective , immediately.

The new law is also retroactive to the 1995-96 school year. Therefore, school districts may now go back and claim full apportionment attendance for part-time college pupils provided the students were enrolled in the regular school program for 240 minutes or more. In addition, 11th and 12th grade pupils may be enrolled and attend the regular school program for as little as 180 minutes and receive 3/4 funding or any proportional amounts for minutes attended between 180 and 240. For example, enrollment and attendance in a 200-minute high school program would yield 83% of full K-12 funding (200/240). The following requirements should be considered before prorating ADA for K-12 funding:

* The pupil must actually be in attendance, not simply enrolled and, thus, clock hour attendance accounting would be necessary. The clock hour requirement is similar to the attendance accounting requirement for concurrent ROC/P pupils who attend the K-12 program less than a 240-minute minimum day.

* The ability to prorate attendance is only applicable to 11th and 12th graders. Pupils in grades K-10 must be enrolled for their respective minimum number of minutes in order to receive apportionment credit.

School districts that have reduced ADA on the 1995-96 J-18/19 attendance reports will need to amend the reports and claim full ADA or additional proportional ADA as appropriate.

The new law also requires that the community college courses in which the pupil is enrolled be open to the general public as a condition of claiming FTEs apportionment for the high school pupil. At this time there is no similar requirement when the pupil enrolls in a university level course.

School district auditors should note that this changes the attendance accounting audit requirements in the State Controllers's Audit Guide (State Compliance Requirements Section 520, Page 86). It is expected that the State Controller's Office will distribute revised compliance requirements or instructions in the near future.

Any questions concerning this advisory may be directed to Xxxx Xxxx at xxx-xxxx.

References: Education Code sections 46146, 48800 et seq., 76001-2; Attendance Accounting Manual pps. 99-102

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Emergency Repair Requirements

TO:  Chief Administrative Officers
     Business Managers
     Purchasing Officers

FROM:  Xxxxxx County Office of Education

SUBJECT:  Emergency Repair Requirements

With the implementation of class size reduction, some districts have encountered difficulty in being able to repair, modernize, improve and make additions to relocatable structures or other facilities for the start of the new school year.

The emergency provisions contained in the Public Contract Code 20113 allow school districts the option of utilizing the emergency repair provision for relocatables without bidding when the board has determined that an emergency exists that would interfere with the continuance of classes for pupils. Districts encountering such problems or other related situations may want to review the bulletin below.

Please feel free to contact me at xxx-xxxx if you have any questions regarding this process.

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Emergency Repair Contract Requirements

TO:  Chief Administrative Officers
     Business Managers
     Purchasing Officers

FROM:  Xxxxxx County Office of Education

SUBJECT:  Emergency Repair Contract Requirements

In an emergency, award of a contract may be made without competitive bidding. The following are requirements necessary to permit our office to approve payments:

1. Adoption of an emergency resolution by the governing board (unanimous vote) and approval of the county superintendent of schools. Award of contract may occur pursuant to the Public Contract Code (PCC):

PCC Section 20113 (school districts)

"(a) In an emergency when any repairs, alterations, work, or improvement is necessary to any facility of public schools to permit the continuance of existing school classes, or to avoid danger to life or property, the board may, by unanimous vote, with the approval of the county superintendent of schools, do either of the following:

(1) Make a contract in writing or otherwise on behalf of the district for the performance of labor and furnishing of materials or supplies for the purpose without advertising for or inviting bids.

(2) Notwithstanding Section 20114, authorize the use of day labor or force account for the purpose.

(b) Nothing in this section shall eliminate the need for any bonds or security otherwise required by law."

[See PCC Section 20654 for community college districts.] [SB 429, Chapter 897, Statutes of 1995, effective January 1, 1996.]

2. When the nature of the emergency is such that corrective action is required before the governing board meets, and the estimated costs exceed bid limits, you may secure the county office's conditional approval to proceed by submitting information relevant to the emergency to our office in letter form via FAX to xxx/xxx-xxxx. We will review the information and get back to you quickly. A copy of the formal resolution adopted by the board must still be sent to our office for required approval of the County Superintendent of Schools. The approved resolution will be returned to the district for processing payment.

3. Authorized Use of Day Labor or Force Account (District's Employees)

Use of force account or day labor in an emergency (approved under PCC 20113 or 20654) is not subject to the hours limitation in Public Contract Code Section 20114 or 20655.

[See PCC Section 20114 for school districts or PCC Section 20655 for community college districts]

4. Payment Bond

A payment bond for public works is required if the contract is for a public work costing more than $25,000. An emergency resolution does not relieve the district from bond requirements.

Excerpt from Civil Code (CC) Section 3247. [emphasis added.]

"(a) Every original contractor to whom is awarded a contract by a public entity, except as provided in subdivision (d) of Section 7103 of the Public Contract Code, involving an expenditure in excess of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for any public work shall, before entering upon the performance of the work, file a payment bond with and approved by the officer or public entity by whom the contract was awarded."

CC Section 3100 "Public work" means any work of improvement contracted by a public entity.

CC Section 3106 "Work of improvement" includes but is not restricted to the construction, alteration, addition to, or repair, in whole or in part, of any building, wharf, bridge, ditch,flume, aqueduct, well, tunnel, fence, machinery, railroad, or road, the seeding, sodding, or planting of any lot or tract of land for landscaping purposes, the filling, leveling, or grading of any lot or tract of land, the demolition of buildings, and the removal of buildings. Except as otherwise provided in this title, "work of improvement" means the entire structure or scheme of improvement as a whole.

If you have questions concerning the information provided, please contact me at xxx-xxxx.

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PERS Pre-tax Service Credit Purchase(s)

TO: School District Administrators

FROM: Xxxxxx County Office of Education

SUBJECT: PERS Pre-tax Service Credit Purchase(s)

Recent legislation now provides qualified members of PERS the option to elect the pre-tax payroll deduction plan for their service credit purchases (i.e., Redeposit, Service Prior to Membership, Military, etc.). Employers are now allowed to extend the pick-up of member contributions under Internal Revenue Code provisions for member payments of service credit purchases.

Individual employers who opt to participate in this "pick-up" program provide their employees, who also opt to participate, with the benefit of deferring income tax liability on member service credit purchases.

A member with a service credit purchase request currently in process or who requests service credit in the future will be provided a participation election in the service credit cost information package. PERS will provide to each member with a current payroll deduction for a service credit purchase an election to participate in this program.

If a member elects, PERS will send an authorization for new payroll deduction schedules to be established as tax deferred payroll reporting. If a member with an existing receivable elects, authorization will be sent to convert from after tax payroll reporting (Vol-Ded 8204) to tax deferred payroll reporting (Vol-Ded 8214).

Please contact this office if you have any questions concerning this program.

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Annual Investment Policy

TO: Chief Business Officials

FROM: Business and Administration Services

SUBJECT: Annual Investment Policy

This Bulletin is a follow-up to Bulletin No. 96-47, which explained Senate Bill 564 effective January 1, 1996.

We have attached the "Annual statement of Investment Policy" from the Xxxxx County Treasurer-Tax Collector. If all of your district's funds are maintained by the County Treasurer, this is the Investment Policy which your Board must adopt. If your district has investments other than with the County Treasurer, as separate policy will also need to be provided to your Board for adoption which explains that specific investment policy.

For your information, we have also enclosed the most recent Monthly Report of County, Schools and District Investments as of May 31, 1996. This is the report that is sent to your distrcit monthly. In the future, once we receive the report, we shall send a copy to each of you for your convenience.

If you have any questions, please call Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx at (xxx) xxx-xxxx or Xxxx Xxxxxxx at (xxx) xxx-xxxx.

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Tracking Class Size Reduction Costs

TO: School District Administrators

FROM: Xxxxxx County Office of Education

SUBJECT: Tracking Class Size Reduction (CSR) Costs

As a result of the likelihood of incurring encroachment costs in implementing the CSR program, it is recommended that CSR costs be tracked.

Under the present 24-digit account code structure it is relatively easy to accommodate this recommendation. The best way to account for these costs would probably be for each district to assign a sub-program number for each accounting transaction. This number would then be included in the account code for all CSR cost related items.

An alternative method of accounting for these costs would be to assign a district discretion code in lieu of the sub-program code. In either case, both would be used in the same manner.

A bigger problem, however, is being able to identify costs that are as a direct result of implementing the CSR program. For costs other than teachers' salaries and benefits, it may be possible to apply an indirect cost rate to cover custodial, utility, and other related support costs.

For assistance in this area, please call Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxx, Director, School District Accounting Services, (xxx) xxx-xxxx.

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Supplemental Payroll Withholding Taxes (FIT/SIT) Summer School Session

TO: School District Administrators

FROM: Division of Administration and Finance

SUBJECT: Supplemental Payroll Withholding Taxes (FIT/SIT) Summer School Session

Questions have arisen regarding the treatment of summer school wages as it relates to the rules pertaining to supplemental withholding taxes.

Inasmuch as summer school wages are paid under a different contract than from the regular school year, these payments become regular wages and are not considered to be supplemental income for tax purposes. Therefore, the employee is taxed under the regular tax rates instead of the supplemental tax rates (ADDBACK method or the 28% & 6% method).

For example, if an employee receives his regular school year payment on June 30 and his summer school pay on July 10, the July payment is also considered to be regular wages. If the July 10 payment includes supplemental wages from the regular school year such as overtime, the overtime payline would be coded supplemental and the remainder would be regular.

The same rule applies for employees who are 10 pay 12thly and work summer school. Even though these employees will be paid on July 10 and August 10 as well as July 31 and August 31, all of these payments are regular wages and will be taxed under the regular tax rates.

Questions on this subject may be directed to the Payroll/Retirement Department.

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Budget Transfer Resolution

SUBJECT: Budget Transfer Resolution

Attached is a sample resolution that districts may use for the purpose of obtaining board approval to make year-end budget transfers. Copies of the sample should be made as needed.

Once board approval has been obtained, a signed copy of the resolution should be forwarded to this office.

 

BEFORE THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

___________________________ SCHOOL DISTRICT

RESOLUTION:

WHEREAS, in past years, the Kern County Superintendent of Schools Office has accepted district Board Resolutions authorizing the County Superintendent to make budget transfers between the Appropriation for Contingencies and any expenditure classification for balancing purposes at year end; and
WHEREAS, districts now have the capability to make budget transfers on line:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that personnel of the _______________________ School District are authorized to make year-end budget transfers for the year ending June 30, 19___ as needed for balancing purposes.
On motion of __________________, seconded by ____________________, the Resolution set forth above was adopted at a meeting held on ______________, 19___, by the following vote:

AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:

BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE ______________________________ SCHOOL DISTRICT
By: _______________________________ (Authorizing Agent)

I hereby certify that the foregoing is a full, true and correct excerpt from the Journal of the Board of Trustees of the ___________________________ School District pertaining to the adoption of the foregoing Resolution at a meeting held on ___________, 19____.

________________________________________
Authorized Agent of the Board of Trustees of the

______________________________________ School District,

County of Kern, State of California

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Accounts Receivable Report

TO: School District Administrators

FROM: Division of Administration and Finance

SUBJECT: Accounts Receivable Report

Districts will be required to forward to the Xxxxx County Superintendent of Schools Office a copy of their end-of-year accruals for accounts receivable. A preliminary report from all school districts is required. A final report will be required should it differ from the preliminary report. The due dates are as follows:

July 10, 1997 - Preliminary Report
July 31, 1997 - Final Report (if different from preliminary)

No adjustments should be made after July 31 without approval from this office. These due dates will provide for efficiency in posting income to the receivables and to eliminate unnecessary fluctuations in the net ending balances.

Each district should submit a computer printout of its receivables report only. This report should be run and sorted by object number.

Districts are reminded that only those items that have actually been received or services rendered on or before June 30 should be considered as a current liability. All income that is due but has not been received by June 30 must be listed as an accounts receivable. Interest income and lottery will be accrued by this office.

Reports should be forwarded to this office.

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Processing Payrolls as a Current Liability

TO: School District Administrators

FROM: Division of Administration and Finance

SUBJECT: Processing Payrolls as a Current Liability

Those districts having payrolls run in July for time worked in June have the option of having these payrolls processed as a current liability (charged to 1996-97) or as a current year expenditure (charged to 1997-98).

Payrolls to be processed as a current liability should be charged to the normal 24-digit account number. DO NOT charge them to 9510.

Current liability payrolls should NOT be included with the normal liabilities that are established at year end.

Payrolls that are to be run as a current liability cannot have time worked in June and July on the same prelist. The July time must be reported on the July EOM payroll.

In order that we can identify current liability payrolls, please note on the signature authorization form the words CURRENT LIABILITY PAYROLL. Also, please indicate "C.L." in the "Report Title" on the payroll prelist.

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Budget Transfers - End of Year

TO: School District Administrators

FROM: Division of Administration and Finance

SUBJECT: Budget Transfers - End of Year

Year-end transfers are made to insure that no major object code remains over-expended. Funds may be transferred from any object code with surplus funds to any other object code that has a shortage of funds.

It should be emphasized that a transfer is necessary only if the total of the major object code is over-expended. Note the following examples:

EXAMPLE 1

OBJECT CODE	BUDGET	EXPENDED	BALANCE
1100.00	50,000	30,000	20,000
1300.00	5,000	10,000	(5,000)
1900.00	-0-	12,000	(12,000)
	55,000	52,000	3,000

Inasmuch as the total of major object code 1000 has a balance of $3,000, no transfer is necessary.

EXAMPLE 2

OBJECT CODE	BUDGET	EXPENDED	BALANCE
1100.00	60,000	45,000	15,000
1300.00	-0-	14,000	(14,000)
1900.00	-0-	10,000	(10,000)
	60,000	69,000	(9,000)

Inasmuch as the total of major object code 1000 shows a deficit of $9,000 a transfer will be necessary to cover the shortage. It is not necessary for every 24-digit account number to have a positive balance. It is the total of the major object code that determines the necessity of a transfer.

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