Developing Consistent Reporting Guidelines Eric Bode Exec. Director, School Choice and Funding, Ohio Dept. of Education Feb. 14, 2013

EXPENDITURE CODING and USAS

It is important to understand USAS coding and the structure of the USAS system. Developed by State Auditor’s Office in 1977 Used to categorically separate expenses Proper coding makes a difference

EXPENDITURE CODING and USAS Method to the madness: 27-digit coding system Structure consists of: ‒ FUND most important includes most of the district’s expenditures ‒ FUNCTION most important has over 50% of expenditures spent in this area ‒ OBJECT most important makes up ~ 50% of general fund expenditures ‒ SPECIAL COST CENTERS & OPERATIONAL UNITS locally defined for buildings and programs

EXPENDITURE CODING and USAS Accounts payable/receivable staff input data using account codes. Payroll staff use pay accounts with account codes to post payroll to the budgetary side. This data is gathered through the EMIS Period H reporting period, gathering a district’s revenue and expense data (old 4502 data).

YOUR SCHOOL’S CODING What are the considerations driving coding decisions?

EXPENDITURE CODING and USAS EMIS expenditure data is used in iLRC (interactive local report card) analysis including: overall expenditure per pupil; exclusions; and breakdown of instructional, administrative, pupil support, staff support, and building operations costs.

EXPENDITURE CODING and USAS Expenditure data is currently: In the iLRC on the ODE website Not ranked or averaged Not on the local report card Not required to be on district’s website

Sample Expenditure Reports in the iLRC

OTHER DATA ON ODE’S WEBSITE Expenditure Flow Model (EFM) Fiscal Benchmark Cupp Report Five-Year Forecast

EXPENDITURE PER PUPIL: New Use of Data in HB 153 – the Budget Bill

EXPENDITURE DATA and HB 153 ODE will calculate the % of budget spent on classroom instructional expenditures. Each school will be ranked within its category by this percentage and will be compared to group averages and the statewide average. The rankings will also note the districts in the lowest 20% of expenditures per pupil.

EXPENDITURE DATA and HB 153 Separately, the same data will be used to calculate: –Overall rank of each school by expenditure per pupil –Overall rank of each school by classroom expenditure as a % of operating expenditures –% of expenditures that are operating These amounts will be compared to statewide averages.

EXPENDITURE DATA and HB 153 Per HB 153, ODE must develop standards to determine expenditures for classroom instructional and non-classroom purposes (ORC ) Standards approved by the State Board of Education by December, 2012 Data will still come from EMIS Computations will be close to current methodology but may have some variations

EXPENDITURE DATA and HB 153 Districts will be grouped into categories based on enrollment: City, Local, Exempted Village: 3-5 groups Joint Vocational: 3-5 groups Community (not including e-schools) : 3-5 groups E-schools STEM schools

EXPENDITURE DATA and HB 153 Expenditure data and rankings will be: Posted on the ODE website Included with Local Report Cards Provided to districts which must –post results on its website –distribute to parents & taxpayers “in another fashion”

EXPENDITURE DATA and HB 153 Added in SB 316 (MBR): expenditure categories to be aligned with federal categories

EXPENDITURE DATA and HB 153 Current categories in Expenditure Flow Model: Instruction Pupil Support Staff Support Building and Operations Administration

EXPENDITURE DATA and HB 153 Federal Expenditure Categories “Current”“Capital” InstructionConstruction Support ServicesLand Pupil supportEquipment Instructional support General admin School admin“Other” Operations and maintenanceDebt Service Pupil transportationPayments to Govts Other support services

CODING CROSSWALK (SEE HANDOUT)

CODING GUIDANCE Information technology Special Education Shared services Pupil transportation Education aides Extracurriculars

EXPENDITURE DATA and HB 153 Concerns of schools Consistency Training Need Certain costs: IT, special ed Context Data Timing Draft data ahead of time Year-end reporting

iLRC Data - Example School Year Example 1 Category $/pupil % Admin $ 1, % Building $ 430.6% Staff support $ % Pupil support $ % Instruction $ 5, % TOTAL $ 7, %

iLRC Data - Example School Year Example 2 Category $/pupil % Admin $ % Building $ 80.1% Staff support $ 30.0% Pupil support $ 170.2% Instruction $ 9, % TOTAL $ 10, %

iLRC Data - Example School Year Example 3 Category $/pupil % Admin $ 7, % Building $ 00.0% Staff support $ 00.0% Pupil support $ 340.4% Instruction $ % TOTAL $ 7, %

So why is this important? With the state budget being very restricted and pressure being put on legislators to budget more money into education, lawmakers are going to look at these reports to determine who is efficient with their resources.

So why is this important? While we know the reports do not reflect the full story of your school district (e.g. poverty, special needs costs, etc.), it is important that correct information is reported and collected.

Coding is a Big Deal! Proper coding of expenditure data is vitally important as it will drive what ODE uses to publish annual reports, which will ultimately be used by your local legislators, taxpayers, and other constituents.

Coding is a Big Deal! Your role is very important to ensure that expenditures are properly accounted for as the USAS manual directs.

USAS Manual The USAS Manual can be found on the Auditor of State’s website at ations/default.htm under Manuals and Handbooks. ations/default.htm

OTHER TOPICS Governor’s proposed budget Your foundation payments Community school and voucher funding Other state payments (property tax rollback, TPP reimbursement, casino payments) ESC funding Shared Services

Questions? Eric Bode