BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Alan Lowenthal, Chair
2011-2012 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 479
AUTHOR: Huff
INTRODUCED: February 17, 2011
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: April 13, 2011
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Daniel Alvarez
SUBJECT : Reporting of School District Expenditures
SUMMARY
Requires every school district to prepare and maintain a
monthly public record of all expenditures of the district,
including, but not limited to, expenditures relating to the
issuance of bond and the use of bond proceeds.
BACKGROUND
Current law:
Requires every school district to complete by September 15,
an annual statement for the preceding fiscal year of all
receipts and expenditures. On October 15, the county
superintendent of schools is required to verify the
accuracy of the statement and transmit a copy to the State
Superintendent of Public Instruction. (Education Code �
42100)
Permits the school district to print and distribute in
pamphlet form an annual financial statement of the receipts
and expenditures, and may include a general report
concerning the conduct and condition of the schools of the
district, as specified. (EC �42105)
Requires a school district to hold a public hearing, on the
proposed budget, at a conveniently accessible location to
the residents of the district. The proposed budget must
show a complete plan and itemized statement of all proposed
expenditures of the school district and all estimated
revenues for the ensuing fiscal year, together with a
comparison of revenues and expenditures for the existing
fiscal year. In addition, current law requires the
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governing board of each school district to adopt a budget
and file it with the county superintendent of schools. The
county superintendent is required to approve or disapprove
the adopted budget of each school district and notify the
Superintendent of Public Instruction of the disapproved
budgets within the county. (EC � 42120 et. seq.)
Current law directs school districts and county offices to
submit all budget reports, prior year expenditure reports,
qualified and negative financial status reports, program
cost accounting reports, certifications, audit reports, and
reports used for calculating apportionments, as specified.
ANALYSIS
This bill:
1) Requires every school district to prepare and maintain
a monthly public record of all expenditures of the
district, including, but not limited to, expenditures
relating to the issuance of bond and the use of bond
proceeds.
2) Requires each item of expenditure include the
following information:
a) The amount of the transaction.
b) The name of the payee.
c) A description of the expenditure.
1) Requires the school district make this information
available for public viewing by posting it on the
Internet website of the district.
2) Requires the public record to be updated at least once
every 30 calendar days.
3) Requires that an explanation of any codes, acronyms,
or abbreviations used to identify a payee or
expenditure.
4) Prohibits the monthly record from including
information that could be used to identify an
individual employee.
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5) Requires reimbursement to local agencies and school
districts to be made if the Commission on State
Mandates determines that this act contains costs
mandated by the state.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill. According to the author's office
budgetary and spending information may be posted
online. However, this information is not easily
accessible or understood. This bill attempts to
address this problem by requiring school districts to
create a one-stop online resource where detailed
information can be found about a district's monthly
expenditures.
2) Similar reporting requirements already exist. As
noted above, each year school districts are required
to provide information on how they spend their funds
to the county superintendent of schools and the State
Department of Education (SDE). Districts and county
offices must send to the SDE all budget reports, prior
year expenditure reports, qualified and negative
financial status reports, program cost accounting
reports, certifications, audit reports, and data used
for calculating apportionments.
3) As school budgets grow smaller, reporting requirements
increase . Unfortunately the school district specific
accounting that may be necessary to produce
expenditure data, as envisioned in this measure, can
have unanticipated trickle down consequences such as
requiring either more accounting staff to gather the
numbers, provide appropriate descriptions and post the
information on a website or diversion of existing
school district personnel which may result in less
instructional leadership, or less instruction, if
teachers are asked to perform administrative functions
depending on the school districts' size. This can be
particularly burdensome on the state's smaller school
districts.
4) Possible mandated costs . By placing extensive
reporting requirements on school districts, this bill
could result in significant costs to the state through
the mandates claims process.
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SUPPORT
Capitol Resource Family Impact
OPPOSITION
California Association of School Business Officers
California School Boards Association