A bill requiring school districts to report their fund balances at the end of each month in the fiscal year for the general, capital outlay, pension and special education funds passed the House Education committee on a unanimous vote.

 

Rep. Jacqueline Sly, House Bill 1148’s main sponsor, said the bill provides the legislature with a “timely collection of data” and a better picture of school district fund balances, which is a benefit to school districts as well, because fund balance levels are currently only documented once a year and HB 1148 would show them month-by-month.

 

Tami Darnall, the DOE Director of Finance, said the fund balance information provided would not be a good way to compare districts to each other due to the various payments each district receives. She noted adding the month-by-month process would be a minimal cost to the state.

 

ASBSD Executive Director Wade Pogany said “school boards are OK” with the bill because it would provide a more fair review of school districts’ fund balance instead of the one-time review provided now.

 

ASBSD supports the bill, which now moves to the House floor for review.

 

For updates on HB 1148, and other pieces of legislation, check the ASBSD Blog and Bill Tracker page.