A primary task of the Board of Education is assuring that the district has the necessary financial resources to satisfy its mission, to facilitate maximum learning for every student. In order to fulfill this responsibility, the board needs to continuously assess current and projected revenues and expenditures.

The board realizes that school finance is highly regulated with many restrictions placed on both revenue and expenditures. The district treasurer, who reports directly to the board, prepares financial projections and oversees the collection of revenue and the expenditure of funds.

Financial planning is done best when it involves all stakeholders. Our residents are key stakeholders in the success of the district.

In order to bring an increased community perspective to the district’s finances, the Board of Education will annually organize and convene a Finance and Audit Committee to serve as advisors to the board. The committee will be created from interested community members who have legal, financial and/or auditing experience.

The committee will be organized as follows:

• Community members selected by the Board

• Two Board of Education Members

• Treasurer and Superintendent  

The committee will meet on an as-needed basis depending on the timing of the tasks listed below.

The intent of the committee is to assist the Board in a financial advisory role and not a decision-making committee. It is not the intent of the committee to partake in the day-to-day operations/decisions of the Treasurer or the district administration nor is it the intent of the committee to address state school funding issues.

Some specific tasks of the committee:

1. Review annually the forecasting assumptions made by the Treasurer, which leads to the financial projections of the district included in the 5-year forecast.

2. Share business and financial best practices from the private and public sectors and recommend operational efficiencies.

3. Serve as the audit committee and perform the following functions:

   • Review the results of the audit;

   • Assure that the audit recommendations are appropriately addressed;

   • Assure auditors independence from management;

   • Serve as liaison between management and independent auditors.

4. In addition, this subcommittee may be given special assignments such as reviewing the Performance Audit conducted by the Auditor of State. The district’s management will present the Performance Audit report and related findings to the board.  The subcommittee will review the Performance Audit and offer advice.

5. Review the schedule of levies (timing and estimated millage amounts) based on the most current five-year projections and advise the Board.

6. Prepare and present reports on committee activities to the Board at public meetings.