Springfield School District Financial Reporting and Planning

The Springfield City School District Board of Education and Administration considers financial  accountability and resource planning one the most significant roles of the Treasurer’s Office . The Treasurer’s office published a Comprehensive Annual Financial Report ( CAFR)and a  Popular Annual Financial Report ( PAFR)  for fiscal year ended June 30, 2016, to show the dedication the administration and Board has to accountability and transparency.  Reporting financial results is just one aspect of school finance. Much of the day to day operations of schools start a year or more  in advance of a school year with resource allocation and the planning which folds into budgeting not only short term but long term as well. Fiscal Year 2016 reports will be posted as soon as completed. A  cash basis summary  of fiscal year end June 30, 2016 is currently available.     

Five Year Forecasting

Ohio Revised Code 5705.391, amended in 1997 requires school districts to file a Five Year Forecast for the General fund with the Ohio Department of Education. Ohio School districts are the ONLY governmental entity in Ohio which is required to provide or attempt to forecast revenues and expenditures for a five (5) year period. For instance the state of Ohio only estimates it budget for a 2 year biennium period. Springfield City Schools gets roughly 70% of operating funds from the state of Ohio. It is clear that projecting district resources for five (5) years would be a daunting challenge even in a stable economy, but adding in the recent difficulty along with the fact that the state of Ohio, the major provider of our operating resources, only projects out two (2) years at a time and it becomes extremely challenging. Never the less the board and Administration work closely for months at a time and on an ongoing basis to estimate project and adjust forecasted revenues and expenditures in its five (5) year forecast.  

The five (5) year forecast must be filed with the Ohio Department of Education by October 31, and May 31, in each of the districts fiscal year’s (school district fiscal years are July 1, through June 30) end June 30^th . Current school district five (5) year forecasts are available for all school districts in Ohio at Ohio Department of Education.

District Budgeting Process and School Finance

The five (5) year forecast filed in October of each year is the beginning point and chief planning tool at a macro level for the following fiscal year’s budget. Generally in February of each year the Treasurer’s Office prepares budget estimates of the past couple of year’s expenditures in detail to all the Building Principals and Department Directors so they can begin preliminary work on a detailed line item budget which is the baseline of financial accountability. Several meetings are held on budget training and budget hearings on the total combined budget. The finished document is typically done in late May after the Board of Education and Administration has held hearings internally on the budget and make sure expenditures are in line with detailed five (5) year forecast estimates of expenditures. In this way the budget never exceeds the five year forecast. This helps establish the current and long term (up to five years) of resource planning of district resources. The public, Board of Education and Administration can use this annual budget tool to understand the financial position of the District in the short term, HERE AND NOW, while the five (5) year forecast which drives the annual budget give them a level of control over the long term resources of the district.   Please review the Appropriation Budget document with an eye on the present – this fiscal year.   

Short Term Finances

The budget, which should be balanced to the five (5) year forecast, builds the spending plan for the current fiscal year operations. The tools used to report short-term financial operations are: 

o   SM12- a monthly report to review revenues and expenditures budget versus actual down to the monthly level and year to date variance level. We use this report and will be posting the report monthly. The treasurer’s office has adjusted the monthly number to reflect the estimated timing of the revenue or expenditure in the current fiscal year. The Treasurer’s Office explains monthly any significant or material variance from estimates. 

o    Appropriation Budget– the tool to determine needs and match to available resources. The target at the present time is resource allocation to address and significantly improve  student performance. We use the appropriation (expenditure) budget because the Board and Administration have greater control over increasing or decreasing these resources as necessary. Revenues are not as easily controlled because over 70% of those come from external sources beyond the district.  

o    The last piece of the short term financial picture is the current fiscal year within the Five Year Forecast. The Appropriation Budget will be the projection of the first year in the forecast. The Major Key -We have tied the Board and Administration short term planning to the five year forecast. 

Long-Term Finances

The Five Year Forecast -as noted above the Ohio Department of Education has mandated the reporting of a five year forecasting model that draws the road map of the general financial direction of the district. Springfield City School District involves the Administration in planning the larger picture (Staffing and Capital Needs) over a five year period. The Five (5) Year Forecast model and detailed “Notes to the Five year Forecast” in detail addresses the assumptions made to generate the numbers. The accuracy of the predictions are key to providing a stable educational program to our students. Levy projection and needs are also a very important factor in the long term plan. The largest issue that a reader of our Five (5) Year Forecast must take into consideration is the outside factors affecting the finances utilized within the system. We use due professional care in estimating all resources in the forecast, therefore the budget and thus all of our operating plans that sit on those estimates are as good as we can humanly make them, but to some extent  there will always be variances. That is why each month we report to the Board and Administration what those current year variances are and how they may, if at all, effect the longer term projections of the district. 

Feel Free to Contact us

We hope you have found this introduction to Springfield City School finances to be on interest and informative. We appreciate your feedback on this information and if you have any questions please feel free to contact our office at 937-505-2811. We welcome your feedback and questions.