“It’s All About $$$$”
New Board Members
&
School Finance
Action Lab—Room 315
NJSBA Annual Workshop
Atlantic City Convention Center
Atlantic City, NJ
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
10:00 am
Presenters
Mr. Patrick S. DeGeorge
Assistant Superintendent for Business/Board Secretary
Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District
pdegeorge@marsd.org
Mr. James Shoop
School Business Administrator, Board Secretary (Ret.)
SHOOP SBA, LLC
Shoop18A18A@gmail.com
What is the Board’s Role in Finance?
The School Budget
I.
The Legal Authority—School Budget
A. New Jersey State Law
N.J.S.A. 18A:7F-1 et seq.—CEIFA (Comprehensive Education Improvement Financing Act)
N.J.S.A. 18A:22-7 et seq.—Budgets and Appropriations
B. New Jersey Administrative Code
N.J.A.C. 6A:23A-8.1 et seq. Annual Budget Development/Submission
N.J.A.C. 6A:23A-9.1 et seq. Budget Review Procedures
C. Local Board Policy
Budget Policy Board of Education—MARSD Policy #6220
(Budget Preparation)
II. Budget Planning and Preparation
A. The Superintendent
B. School Business Administrator/Assistant
Superintendent for Business
C. The Board Finance Committee
D. Budget Planning and Preparation Documents
1. Budget Guidelines—NJDOE Website
2. Budget Calendar—MARSD 2016-2017
3. Budget Preparation—MARSD Boot Camp
a. Budget Goals and Objectives—Priorities
b. Budget Process
2|Page
III. The Board’s Budget (Really School Budget)
A. Initial Adoption
Budget sent to Executive County Superintendent for
approval, then Advertised Budget
Public Hearing—MARSD Public Hearing
B.
C. Final Adoption
MARSD User Friendly Budget—one click rule!
D. Voter Approval—April Districts Only!
IV. The Budget—Revenues
Budget revenues vary by the type of school districts. The major
sources of revenues are as follows:
A. Local Tax Levy (Local Fair Share)—the biggie!
B. State Aid—including Categorical Aid
Examples of Categorical Aid
1. Special Education Aid
2. Extraordinary Special Education Aid
3. Transportation Aid
C.
D.
E.
F.
3|Page
Fund Balance—hopefully not too big and not too small!
Federal Aid—Title I, II, III—IDEA, Perkins
Ballot Question(s)
Total Revenues—Bottom Line
V. The Budget—Appropriations*
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
Instruction
Support Services
Transportation
Employee Benefits
Capital Expenditures
State and Federal Grants
Debt Service Payment
Total Appropriations—Bottom Line
*Salaries and benefits make up 75-80% of the school budget.
How does your school district spend its money?
Visit the NJ DOE Website and click on
Taxpayers’ Guide to Education Spending
4|Page
Monthly Financial Reports
A. The Bills List
The board of education at each monthly meeting is presented with
a list of bills (claims and demands) from vendors doing business
with the school district. The board, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:19-2,
votes on the bills list to approve payment to the vendors.
The Bills List is usually found in the Finance Section of the Board
agenda.
B. Budget Transfers—Transfer of Funds
The board of education may be presented with a list of budget
transfers that are needed to conduct the financial business of the
district and to ensure that no budget line is overspent. The
board, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:22-8.1 votes to approve the
transfers of funds.
C. Board Secretary’s Report
The Board Secretary’s Report provides an overall picture of the
financial status of the school district. The board secretary should
certify pursuant to N.J.A.C. 6A:23A-16.10 (c) (3) that no budget
line has been overspent.
D. Treasurer of School Moneys Report
The Treasurer of School Moneys, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:17-36
provides a monthly report to the board detailing all receipts and
warrants and balances for each account.
E. School District Contracts
By July 1 of each school year and then prior to the execution,
extension or renewal of any school district contract, the SBA shall
submit a written report to the board. (N.J.S.A. 18A:18A-42.2)
5|Page
The Audit
A. CAFR—Comprehensive Annual Financial Report
The board of education shall cause an annual audit of the
district’s accounts and financial transactions to be made by a
public school accountant. (Board Auditor)
The many page document offers to the public a complete
financial picture of the school district—warts and all.
Combined School District, Charter School and Renaissance
School Audit Program—NJ DOE Website
B. AMR—The Auditors Management Report
Issued with the CAFR is the AMR or the Auditor’s
Management Report. In this report the auditor issues
findings (problems) and recommendations concerning the
financial activities of the school district.
If there are findings and recommendations then the school
district must prepare and approve a Correction Action Plan.
MARSD—Auditor’s Management Report (AMR)
Other Audits—“We are being watched!”
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Affirmative Action—Public Contracts
Federal Fiscal Monitoring
NJ State Commission of Investigation
NJ Legislature—Office of the State Auditor
NJ State Comptroller
NJ DOE—Office of Fiscal Accountability and
Compliance
Warning!—Repeat Audit Recommendations!
6|Page
The School Business Administrator
The school business administrator (SBA) or the Assistant Superintendent
Business, is the chief financial officer of the school district. He/she has
the responsibly to supervise, manage and coordinate the business affairs
of the district. He is to do this with efficiency and effectiveness to ensure
that educational support services help achieve the educational goals of
the district. The SBA does these activities within the available financial
resources.
The SBA is appointed by the board of education, pursuant to N.J.S.A.
18A:17-14.1 for a one year term in accordance with employee contract
terms and conditions as outlined in N.J.A.C. 6A:23A-3.1 et seq.
The role of the SBA encompasses many duties and responsibilities.
Among them are:
 Budget Planning and Budget Administration
 Accounting and Financial Transactions
 Insurance/Risk Administration
 Financial Reporting
 School Plant Planning, Construction and Maintenance
 Personnel and Employee Benefits
 Payroll Activities
 Labor Relations
 Student Transportation
 Food Services
 Technology and
 Purchasing
7|Page
The Board Secretary
The Board Secretary is appointed by the board of education pursuant to
N.J.S.A. 18A:17-5 for a one year term. The board secretary has well
defined duties as prescribed by law to include the following:
Board of Education Meetings

The board secretary gives notice of all board meetings to the public
and the board members.


He prepares all agendas and records minutes of all board meetings.
He administers oaths of office and presides over the annual
organization meeting of the board until a president is elected.
General Accountant of the Board



The board secretary collects all moneys due to the board.
He examines and audits all accounts.
He reports to the board on a monthly basis of all financial
transactions through the board secretary’s report.
Contracts; Record Keeping

The board secretary keeps all contracts, records and documents
belonging to the board and acts as the Custodian of Public
Records. He usually coordinates all OPRA requests.
Other duties include:
1. School Ethics Forms
2. Board member training; travel
3. School Elections—April Districts only
4. Public Agency Compliance Officer
8|Page
Presenters
Mr. Patrick S. DeGeorge
Mr. DeGeorge is the Assistant Superintendent for Business/Board
Secretary for the Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District (MARSD)
in Aberdeen, NJ. This is his third year with the school district.
Previous to his time with MARSD, Mr. DeGeorge served as the School
Business Administrator/Board Secretary for the boards of education in
both Freehold Borough and Bass River Township. He is a Certified Public
Accountant in the State of New Jersey and also a Qualified Purchasing
Agent.
Mr. DeGeorge may be reached at pdegeorge@marsd.org.
Mr. James Shoop
Mr. James Shoop is a retired School Business Administrator/Board
Secretary. He worked for the Passaic Board of Education in Passaic, NJ
for forty-two (42) years. He was a classroom teacher for seventeen (17)
years and worked in the School Business Administrator’s office for
twenty-five (25) years.
Mr. Shoop makes presentations throughout the state of New Jersey on
school business administration topics, especially centering on public
school purchasing. He also provides consulting services to various
public school districts.
Mr. Shoop may be reached through his consulting business:
SHOOP SBA, LLC
Shoop18A18A@gmail.com
9|Page