Reporting Bulletin FY Date: July 30, 2015

Transcription

1 Reporting Bulletin FY Date: July 30, 2015 Jill Guhlke, Cindy Seifert and Dianna Groskreutz are readily available to field questions and provide assistance with UFARS accounting. You can expect a prompt response. Jill can be reached at (507) Cindy s phone number is (507) Dianna s phone number is (507) Reporting Bulletins are posted on Region V s web page at under Bulletins. Topics Covered in this Bulletin (Use Ctrl + click to go to the Topic. Then use Alt + to go back to Table of Contents) IRS Mileage Rate... 1 Prepare for Year-End Activities... 1 Property Tax Shift FY Long-Term Facilities Maintenance Revenue- NEW... 2 Levy Information System for 2015 Payable 2015 STILL Unavailable... 2 Levy Reporting... 3 Career and Technical Education Levy Reporting- System Open for Entering Data... 4 Verification of District and School Site Information for FY Transportation Reporting... 4 MARSS End of Year FY 2015 Timelines... 5 Compensatory Revenue and Free and Reduced Lunch Applications... 5 Election Timelines... 5 Miscellaneous... 6 Reports Due... 6 IRS Mileage Rate The Internal Revenue Service Mileage Rate for 2015 is 57.5 cents. Prepare for Year End Activities For FY 2015, the statutory deadlines on reporting and submitting data and audits are: No later than September 15, 2015 Initial Upload of UFARS data (audited or unaudited) (Please have to the Region by 9/11) No later than November 30, 2015 Final Upload of Audited UFARS data (Please have to the Region by 11/25) No later than November 30, 2015 Completion of Audited UFARS Compliance Table No later than December 31, 2015 Audit Report Submitted to MDE and State Auditor 1

2 The tax shift percentage is 0.0%. Property Tax Shift FY 2015 The Spreadsheet has not yet been posted. We are told it will be posted soon. The Spreadsheet for the Property Tax shift is found on the MDE website under School Support > School Finance > Levy Certification Process. Long Term Facilities Maintenance Revenue NEW July 10, 2015 excerpt from memorandum from Tom Melcher, Director, MDE, Program Finance Division OVERVIEW Laws 2015, 1st Special Session, Chapter 3, Article 6, sections 1 4 and 14 (2015 Education Act), establish a Long term Facilities Maintenance Revenue Program for school districts, intermediate districts, other cooperatives and charter schools. The new program replaces the current Health and Safety Revenue, Deferred Maintenance Revenue and Alternative Facilities Bonding and Levy programs, beginning in FY Revenue increases for school districts not currently eligible to participate in the Alternative Facilities Bonding and Levy program and for charter schools are phased in over three years, from FY 2017 to FY This memorandum summarizes the new program, including: Allowed uses of revenue. Overview of process and timelines for ten year facilities plan Procedure for completing the ten year expenditure spreadsheet to be submitted to MDE as part of the tenyear facilities plan Procedure for completing the ten year revenue spreadsheet to be submitted to MDE as part of the ten year facilities plan, and Procedure for updating FY 2017 expenditure data on health and safety and deferred maintenance data bases. Most of the supporting documentation can be found on the department Facilities and Technology website at School Support > School Finance > Facilities and Technology. Levy Information System for 2015 Payable 2015 STILL Unavailable July 30, from MDE, School Finance The Levy Information System (LIS) is still unavailable for 2015 Payable The LIS is currently being updated and will be ready sometime in the first week of August. You will receive another when the LIS is up and running. Please do not attempt to access the Levy Information System until you are notified that it is ready for 2015 Payable A link to the detailed LIS instructions will be provided in the notifying you that the LIS is available. Once the Levy Information System is available, the password will be summer2015. Please note: there are several significant changes to the Levy Information System screens: On the Building/Land Lease Payable 2016 screen, if you answer Yes to the "Acquiring Ownership" question, you will be asked if other district resources are to be used to fund the project, the lease term, and the year of the lease. On the Debt Service screen, the COP bond type has been replaced with COP/Lease Purchase and two new bond types have been added due to the new Long Term Facility Maintenance Revenue program: Fac Maint H&S >100 and Face Maint Other. Also, a new field has been created called Bond Term. 2

3 On the General and Community Service screen, a new field has been created due to the new Long Term Facility Maintenance Revenue program [Line 8]. This new field allows districts to request a reduction from their maximum Long Term Facility Maintenance Revenue. Districts wishing to levy less than the maximum may specify an amount here, rather than underlevying on the proposed levy certification. The actual reduction to the levy share will be shown on the initial Levy Limitation and Certification report produced by September 8. Districts may use the Ten Year Long Term Facilities Maintenance Projection spreadsheet to simulate the aid/levy split as a result of this reduction by entering the amount on line 33. Thank you for your continued patience. Levy Reporting July 27, 2015 excerpt from memorandum from Tom Melcher, Director, MDE, Program Finance Division This memo describes the information needed for the 2015 Payable 2016 Levy Limitation and Certification Reports. The requested data is required for the calculation of school district levy limitations under Minnesota Statutes, Chapters 122A, 123A, 123B, 124D, 125B, and 126C, as amended by Laws 2015, 1st Special Session, Chapter 3. In addition, this memo contains information for many miscellaneous levy authorities for which your district may wish to apply. Access the following information for the levy verification process on the Minnesota Department of Education s (MDE) Website. To get to the Levy related information, select School Support > School Finance > Levy Certification Process. Here you will find: A copy of this memo ( 2015 Payable 2016 Levy Forms and Instructions ) Levy Limitation and Certification Calendar Excess Debt Redemption Fund Balance Instructions Excess Debt Redemption Fund Balance (spreadsheet) Levy Information System Instructions Related offsite resources (right navigation bar) Department of Revenue's Truth in Taxation Link MSBA's Important Referendum Election Dates Link Department of Revenue's Economic Development Tax Abatements Link To access the following data reporting systems, select School Support > Data Submissions: Levy Information System Health and Safety ADM/EL (EDRS) To get to the Minnesota Funding Reports (MFR) section, select Data Center > Data Reports and Analytics > School Finance Reports > Minnesota Funding Reports (MFR). In addition to the above information already posted to the MDE website, you are encouraged to check the Levy Certification Process section of the MDE website throughout the summer and fall for announcements and updates related to the levy certification process. 3

4 Career and Technical Education Levy Reporting System Open for Entering Data Please read the July 21 memorandum from Deputy Commissioner Steve Dibb, and Paula Palmer, director of Career and College Success. The Career and Technical Education Levy Reporting System is now open for entering FY15 actual expenses. Actual expenses must be entered for approved career and technical education programs by September 1, For step by step instructions, use the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Levy Recalculation Web Based Reporting System User s Guide (July 2015) available on the Career and Technical Education Levy web page For assistance with detailed questions about the CTE Levy Program System, contact Joel Larsen, Verification of District and School Site Information for FY 16 Normally, many districts experience staff changes over the summer months. If your district or charter school has welcomed a new superintendent, director, or other administrative staff, please review and update their contact information. The District and School Site Verification System is a web accessible collection tool that enables updates to the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) master directory of organizational units, which controls the processing of data on other MDE major systems such as MARSS, STAR, UFARS, FNS, IDEAS, LEVIES and the AYP Report Card. It is essential that contact information be kept up to date. Districts are asked to review and update their district and school site contact information note the August 31 deadline. Please read the May 21 memorandum regarding the timeline and critical steps to maintaining accurate district and school site directory information. For assistance with questions, please contact Mary Pat Olsen at , or questions to mde.school verify@state.mn.us. Transportation Reporting June 1, 2015 memorandum from Julie Belisle, Pupil Transportation Specialist, MDE, Division of School Finance Pupil Transportation Reporting General Overview School districts report the number of nonpublic school students transported to and from school, and bus ownership. Districts will report miles, hours or routes by category. Districts that transported students to an achievement and integration program must complete the report titled, Transportation to Achievement and Integration Programs (ED ). This report is only being sent to districts that have been identified as racially isolated. Instructions have been developed to aid districts in completing this report. 4

5 Districts report the number of public school students transported to and from school on the Minnesota Automated Reporting Student System (MARSS). The MARSS student record has fields in which districts must enter the student s to and from school transportation code and the Transporting District Number and Type. Expenditure data are reported on the Uniform Financial Accounting and Report Standards (UFARS) data submission. As in the past, the Pupil Transportation Data Verification Report (DVR) will be posted to the Minnesota Funding Reports section of the department s website by mid October. It will be titled, FY Transportation Data Verification Report. The department plans to update the posting periodically throughout the fall. The DVR summarizes data from the Annual Report, MARSS and the UFARS data submissions. If there are any discrepancies among the data reported on these reports, districts will be asked to explain or correct them. MARSS End of Year FY 2015 Timelines MARSS Timelines Submissions/Turn Around Reports End Of Year FY2015 Files due to the department: July 7 August 4 September 8 October 20 December 15 Contact: marss@state.mn.us Data will be used for Special Education Tuition Billing. Used for September 30 Clean up Payment. Used for October 30 Clean up Payment. Update Special Education Tuition Billing. File hard copy. Statute deadline. Compensatory Revenue and Free and Reduced Lunch Applications With the start of school just around the corner, many of you are getting ready to send out free and reduced lunch applications. This is a good time to inform families that students eligible for the Free and Reduced Lunch Program earn the school additional income for educational purposes not related to the food service program. Encourage families to consider helping the district collect this additional revenue by completing and returning the free and reduced lunch application form sent out by the district. Election Timelines MSBA Website Election Information Important Election Dates: Referendums 2015 Election Dates for School Districts Without A Primary These summary dates can be used by your district election clerk to make sure all election laws are followed. 5

6 2015 Election Dates for School Districts With A Primary For about 20 districts that are subject to the primary election system, these summary dates can be used by your district election clerk to make sure all election laws are followed Mail Ballot or Bond Election Dates If you are having a special election for a bond referendum or mail ballot referendum, this is a helpful list of dates that show when and when not to hold the referendum Important Referendum Election Dates If you are holding an operating levy this year, this timeline will give you a list of dates to track for your operating levy election. Miscellaneous School boards must approve the FY 2016 budget and commit any funds prior to July 1st. Review and update Cash Flow projections on a monthly basis. Region V has a spreadsheet available on our website under Downloads > Finance Spreadsheets > Cash Flow Spreadsheet. Contact Region V for assistance. The Master Revenue Projection we talked about at FYE and Superintendent sessions is located on the MDE website MDE > School Support > Data Reports and Analytics > School Finance Spreadsheets > Revenue Projection Model. A School Business Bulletin was posted in May to the MDE website. You can find it here. Reports Due This list is not inclusive refer to the MDE website for additional reporting requirements. July 24 th Deadline for school districts to submit Health and Safety Revenue Application August 14 th August 15 th Deadline for 10 Year Long Term Facilities Plan to be included on Preliminary Levy Reports Deadline for districts to submit preliminary information on bonding for OPEB liabilities August 15 th ED Pupil Transportation Annual Report and Transportation And Transportation Allocation Spreadsheet August 21 st August 21 st August 28 th Last Day to adopt resolution calling for referendum election. Deadline for districts to submit Career and Technical estimated expenditure changes for levy report. Deadline for districts to submit data via Levy 6

7 Information System. August 31 st September 4 th September 15 th Health and Safety website restored with projects Last day to make changes via Health and Safety Website Initial Upload of UFARS data (audited or unaudited) 7