School district participation in the Meritorious Budget Awards (MBA) Program makes budgets more understandable and user-friendly. All budget data are presented in a single document in a pyramid approach that begins with a summary of all funds and then presents individual funds. Provides ordering information for a publication that guides readers…

Outlines the history of the development of the government accounting standards and discusses the research conducted by three professional organizations aimed at improving governmental accounting standards. (Author/MLF)

Describes measures designed to minimize errors in the summarization and reporting of financial and operating data as well as to minimize the opportunities for misuse of a school system's assets. (Author)

Difficulty passing referenda to authorize school bonds necessary for important school capital purposes prompted New Jersey to enact legislation to authorize a school district to acquire a site and school building by lease purchase agreement. Advantages, disadvantages, and voter attitude are discussed. (MLF)

Reviews provisions of the Tax Reform Act (1986) affecting schools that issue bonds, notes, or warrants. While interest on school financing will remain tax-exempt, school officials will need to master new concepts involving private agency bonds and arbitrage restrictions. Further erosion of schools' tax-exempt status is likely. (MLH)

After a tentative school budget is formulated it is then shared with the community via public hearings, with the ultimate objective of the public hearings to obtain voter approval on election day. (Author/MLF)

The School Site Allocations Model, tested in five Ohio districts, consists of the following subsystems: administration, facilities and operations, staff support and development, pupil support, and instruction. Applying these functions at the central office and at the school site can help districts determine how well they are managing their…

Offers cost-saving measures that allow school districts to stretch their buying power through consolidation, privatization, and regionalization. (MLF)

Addresses some of the tools and methods available to the business administrator as well as some of the obstacles present in communicating financial information. (MLF)

When the 1991 Pennsylvania Legislature decentralized its special education funding process, it created a crisis for the commonwealth's 29 educational regional service agencies. The Chester County Intermediate Unit responded entrepreneurially by downsizing the department; surveying customer satisfaction levels; instituting staff training programs;…

Presents national data from the Educational Research Service (ERS) National Survey of school district budgets. The database of school-district budget information provides a consistent and reliable means for comparing local school-district budgets across the United States. Offers information about trends in resource allocation, personnel costs,…

Updates the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) statements, which pronounce upon and provide guidance in accounting and financial reporting for state and local governmental entities. Describes the development of GASB's governmental finance-reporting model project and identifies five components of internal control. One figure and two…

This article was written to help school-business administrators keep track of school-district funds and make the right investment decisions. It provides a directory, which contains detailed information on financial-services firms, the regions they serve, and their areas of expertise. (LMI)

In June 1999, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) issued its statement on the structure of the basic financial reporting model for state and local governments. Explains the new financial reporting model and reviews the implementation issues that school districts will need to address. (MLF)

Fund balance is the accumulated difference between revenues and expenditures. In the absence of state law, school boards should adopt sound policy regarding fund balance accumulation. Excesses of fund balance raise significant questions about school district management. Fiscal leaders of schools must make every effort to channel all school…