Each year, California's kindergarten through grade twelve (K12) school districts, county offices of education, charter schools, and joint powers agencies, all commonly known as local educational agencies (LEAs), submit annual financial reports to the California Department of Education (CDE). English Learner progress. Results in Brief Located in Los Angeles County, the Bellflower Unified School District (Bellflower) is overseen by a fivemember Board of Education (board). Anchorage School District Audit Reports. One weakness in such an approach is that it would subject the amount of funding available for school facility construction and modernization to an annual fluctuation. The district eventually received the design funds in 2018, five years after applying for help. In addition, we estimate that districts will request another $5.7billion over the next fiveyears. As we highlight in Figure 1, the OPSC and the Allocation Board consider several factors when reviewing and approving modernization applications. Submitting Annual Audit Reports - California Department of Education PDF Kings River-hardwick Union School District County of Kings Hanford Education Code Section 47634.2 (d) Charter school audits. K-12 Local Education Agencies, Charter Schools, and Joint Powers For detailed field descriptions to the SACS Unaudited Actual and charter school Alternative Form Unaudited Actual data sets, please refer to the field descriptions web page. She stated that neither the OPSC nor the Allocation Board has the statutory authority to require building age information from districts that do not participate in the facilities program, and the OPSC has not needed these data when recommending funding decisions concerning individual applications to the Allocation Board. As described above, the OPSC believes that neither it nor the Allocation Board can require districts to provide the age of their facilities, particularly if they have historically not participated in the modernization facilities program. For applications the Allocation Board approved in fiscal years 201819 through 202021, determined the average time it took for applications to receive funding approval. These deficiencies included a walkin refrigerator with mold inside it and an outside work yard that had a lot of broken items and trash. Each of the three districts has a centralized maintenance department that handles maintenance and repair requests for its schools. State Capitol The Financial Accountability and Information Services (FAIS) Office, within the CDE is responsible for annually collecting, reviewing, and preparing this financial data for dissemination. Districts can choose to submit their eligibility applications and applications for project funding at the same time or separately, but districts must always have qualified as eligible before receiving approval for project funding. The district applied for full project funding in November 2019 and it was once again left waiting in line because the State ran out of facility program funding again. The Allocation Board and the OPSCs firstcome, firstserved approach to reviewing and approving modernization projects disadvantages those districts that cannot fund their local share of project costs. Further, the way the State distributes its bond funding generally promotes greater equity in school facility modernization efforts than local funding does: since1998 the State has generally provided more funding to districts with lower assessed property values. According to the U.S.Commission on Civil Rights, lowincome students and students of color often attend schools that lack proper physical maintenance, and equitable access to technology, technology support, and other critical facilities. As we discuss in the Introduction, modernized facilities are linked to positive student health and educational outcomes. Thus, state funds have generally given districts in less wealthy areas a greater ability to maintain modern facilities than they would have had otherwise. California State Auditor - Most Recent Reports Once the books are closed for a school year, an independent auditor must conduct a nal audit of the district's nancial records. Each of the states has a different formula for calculating their state and local share of funding, but overall they have similar methods of funding school facility maintenance and modernization projects using a combination of local and state funding. A school district may issue bonds up to specified total debt limits that are based on the assessed value of the taxable property within the district. We performed accuracy and completeness testing on these data and concluded that they are of undetermined reliability. We discuss more fully the relationship between the value of assessed property and access to project funding in the next section. The effect on financiallychallenged districts becomes exacerbated when the State has no funding to allocate to modernization projects. Further, the Legislature should require the Allocation Board to maintain any data the OPSC collects from districts for the purpose of building a comprehensive set of data on facility age for all California schools. GO bonds are essentially loans borrowed by state or local governments, such as school districts, and are primarily used to finance infrastructure projects, including projects at K12schools. Attempting to improve equity by redirecting state funds away from districts that can access greater amounts of local funding is likely to have a limited effect. Acceptable Audit Report Formats Beginning in 2012-13, audit reports must be submitted in an electronic format to the California Department of Education (CDE). Sacramento, California 95814. This audit report concludes the following: The State Can Improve the School Facilities Program by Increasing Funding and Making Changes to Improve Equity School districts often modernize their facilities by upgrading the following: Alternately, a district can demolish an existing facility and replace it with a similar facility. hanford, california audit report june 30,2015 borchardt, corona & faeth accountancy corporation 1540 e. shaw ave., ste. In other words, there is no ARBBA list for charter school projects since the Allocation Board does not accept applications unless it has available bond authority. However, districts that choose to wait to submit applications will be the last to receive their project funds because the OPSC reviews applications in the order in which they are received. The more dependent a district is on state funding to start or complete its project, the less likely it is to be able to move forward with its project until it receives the state funding. Because San Juan Unified School District could not provide a more up-to-date estimate of its modernization needs, we were unable to determine the additional funding it needs. The Governor of California College-readiness. Decreased cognitive functions such as decision making, attention, concentration, and memory. The OPSC asserted that it does not track requested funds for health and safety modernization projects. The California Department of Education (Education), which administers the State's K12 public school system, has begun allocating ESSER and GEER funds to local educational agencies (LEAs)such as school districts and charter schoolsto help mitigate the effects of the pandemic and enable the safe reopening of schools. In addition, this audit 3This audits scope did not include a review of the States efforts to comply with this settlement agreement. Evaluate the methods by which the State and local governments finance the modernization and maintenance of school facilities and compare available financing and funding to the known and estimated need for modernization and maintenance. She stated that neither the OPSC nor the Allocation Board has the statutory authority to require building age information from districts that do not participate in the facilities program, and the OPSC has not needed these data when recommending funding decisions concerning individual applications to the Allocation Board. site-search. Below that, we have text stating that we estimate that districts will request another $5.7 billion over the next five years next to an image of a bar chart showing increasing amounts. Dashboard Communications Toolkit User-friendly resources relevant to the 2022 Dashboard. One of these districts stated it completed its project to modernize an administration building six years before applying. We reviewed whether the OPSC verified that these districts met the requirements for a financial hardship and concludedthat it appropriately verified that these districts met those requirements. Source:Analysis of local bond measures and state funding from the facilities program for both new construction and modernization, and assessed property values from a selection of districts representing more than 70percent of enrolled students in California. This amount includes existing requests of $1.7billion that the Allocation Board could not fulfill as of November2021 because it did not have sufficient funding authority. The financial data is published on the Ed-Data website. Determine the factors the Allocation Board considers for approving district applications for school facilities funding, including for financial hardship. According to Education Code 41020 (h) Local Education Agency (LEA) audit reports are due no later than December 15. School Districts Annual Report - California State Controller's Office Coal Center, Pennsylvania 15423 . Fresno, California December 4, 2019 Financial Reports The State Bar of California: It Will Need a Mandatory Licensing Fee Increase in 2024 to Support Its Operations. We also reviewed the amount of facilities program funding the Allocation Board approved for each district since1998 and its amount of local bond authority from1998 through2020 as reported by the State Treasurers Office. We determined the average amount of time that applications remained on the list. We conclude that bond funding remains the best option to fund school facility modernization projects on an ongoing basis. From1998 through2006, voters approved school facilities bond propositions every twoto fouryears. Our audit concerning the oversight that authorizing districts . First, we accounted for the amount of funding that districts have already requested that the OPSC does not believe it can address with the Allocation Boards existing bond authority. 2010-11 Measure G Annual & Audit Reports. Prioritizing the funding of projects from financially challenged districts would address this inequity in thefacilitiesprogram. As a result, audits shall be conducted in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America, the standards set forth in Government . * Regulations prioritize funding for projects that address an imminent threat to the health and safety of students, and the OPSC reviews these projects first. As Figure 2 depicts, our estimate has two parts. Annual Financial Data - Financial (CA Dept of Education) Compared the per-pupil amount of assessed property in each district to the amounts of facilities funding available for each district from local and state sources to determine equity between districts. For each school district in 15 counties, reviewed the per-pupil value of assessed property and median income within the districts boundaries. As a result, students in this district do not currently have the same access to modern facilities as students may have in wealthier school districts that could start and complete their projects using local funds while awaiting reimbursement from the State. Source:Financial reports from Cupertino, Palm Springs, and San Juan school districts, and the OPSCs ARBBA list. Further, we found that the State could increase equity in the facilities program by adjusting its approach to funding projects. In addition to meeting requirements related to the age of a facility and the nature of a project, a school district must demonstrate it can contribute its share of the project costs to qualify for state funding. FY24 Proposed Budget Book (10Mb PDF) . The OPSC also indicated that some districts may wait until they learn whether a new bond proposition is making changes to the modernization program, such as changing the state share of funding provided to districts, before submitting their applications. Please refer to the download instructions web page for information on how to download executable (EXE) files. In the absence of state funding, school districts that want to proceed with modernization projects need to do so with their own sources of funding. Bond funding does not provide a continually guaranteed source of funding, but it is a reasonable and common way to pay for infrastructure projects and remains the best option for California to fund school facility modernization onan ongoing basis. As we discuss in the Introduction, modernized facilities are linked to positive student health and educational outcomes. 2007-08 Measure G Annual & Audit Reports. Fact Sheet (PDF) Full Report (HTML) Full Report (PDF) Recommendations. Good repair means that a facility is maintained in a manner that assures it is clean, safe, and functional. Ed-Data is a partnership of the California Department of Education, EdSource and the Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) designed to offer educators, policy makers, the legislature, parents, and the public quick access to timely and comprehensive data about K-12 education in California. Acting California State Auditor. The following databases contain unaudited actuals financial data for county offices of education, school districts, joint powers agencies, and charter schools. The OPSC has recognized that periods during which the State runs out of bond authority for modernization projects can create inequity between districts. Audit Reports - Business Services - Lammersville Unified School District However, voters rejected Proposition13. Because of this practice, the OPSC reviews and processes applications for the nonhealth and safety projects on a firstcome, firstserved basis, and districts can wait several years after submitting their applications to receive approval from the Allocation Board and subsequently to receive their funds. Because school districts are only eligible to receive funding to modernize school buildings that have reached certain ages and the OPSC does not know the number of buildings that have reached those age thresholds, the OPSCs deputy executive officer believes that it does not have sufficient data to estimate future need for modernization funding. The final illustration in this graphic shows the woman with her application at the front of the line talking with a receptionist under a sign that reads priority access. To help ensure that all students have safe and adequate facilities in which to learn, the facilities program funds grants to school districts to, in part, modernize existing school facilities. All J-200 LEA submissions to CDE from fiscal year 199596 through 200203 are available in the following self-extracting file. Once voters approve a bond sale, the state or local government has bond authority, allowing it to sell bonds equal in value to the voterapproved amount. PDF Poway Unified School District County of San Diego San Diego, California January 28, 2022: . Although the OPSC indicated that it cannot fully estimate future requests without complete data about the age of Californias school buildings, another option would also allow for dependable estimates. Therefore, when the State cannot fund all modernization projects, there is a structural inequity in whether districts are positioned to proceed with facilities projects. Among those other sources are developer fees, parcel taxes, and lease revenues. The OPSC could present these estimates every other year to the Allocation Board, which could then report this information to theLegislature when its bond authority begins to run low. 5 . There is another illustration of the woman waiting at the end of a new line with an application in hand and her other hand covering her face in frustration. California Education Code 14500 assigns primary responsibility to the State Controller's Office (SCO) for implementing and overseeing a new program to review and report on financial and compliance audits of school districts and the offices of county superintendents of schools. When applications exceed the Allocation Boards bond authority, they sit on a list in the order in which they are received until additional state funding becomes available. Researched studies and reports published within the last seven years that relate to the effects of deferred modernization on student health and education outcomes and that included California schools. Lakota school board investigates superintendent, approves CRT audit Once the Allocation Board has deemed a district eligible, the district may receive funding for a specific modernization project. Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the California State Auditors Office (CSA) audit that was approved by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee (JLAC), on June 30, 2021, regarding the School Facilities Program (SFP) that is administered by the Office of Public School Construction (OPSC), within the Department of General Services (DGS). Blank page inserted for reproduction purposes only. If you would like to be notified when these data sets are available for a future year, please send a blank message to join-school-district-financial-data@mlist.cde.ca.gov to subscribe to our mailing list. According to the OPSCs deputy executive officer, the OPSC has not requested school facility ages from districts that have not participated in the modernization program. As the figure shows, districts with the highest perpupil value of assessed property had access to the largest amount of total funding, generally because of the large share of local funds those districts could access. Holocaust principal scandal rages on after 5 years. The OPSC began receiving requests it could not fund in March2019meaning that for almost three years, the OPSC has received requests that it has no authority to fund. First, as a part of the 2004settlement that we describe in the Introduction, the State agreed to collect building age data from a subset of school districts. These buildings are among a wave of school buildings that will soon meet the age criteria in state law for receiving modernization funding from the facilities program. Figure 2 is a graphic that describes that California school districts will likely need $7.4 billion in state funds to meet their modernization needs over the next five years. Figure 3 is a graphic that demonstrates how the State Allocation Board and the Office of Public School Constructions (OPSC) first-come, first-served approach disadvantages some districts. First, districts must submit an application to the OPSC to establish their eligibility for funding. FY 2023-24 Budget Solutions. Search: Search. The Charter School Alternative Form is an option available for charter schools to prepare their unaudited actual financial reports without using SACS and the SACS Financial Reporting Software. Audit Report Due Date - California State Controller's Office Tested six modernization applications that the Allocation Board approved in fiscal years 201819 through 202021, including two requesting financial assistance and tworequesting facility hardship grants, for compliance with state law and OPSCpolicies. Review the OPSCs administration of facilities program funding and assess the process for administering such funding: For a selection of school districts that have diverse facility needs, evaluate the districts efforts to provide safe and adequate public school facilities to students and teachers: The U.S.Government Accountability Office, whose standards we are statutorily obligated to follow, requires us to assess the sufficiency and appropriateness of the computerprocessed information we use to support our findings, conclusions, orrecommendations. 5In addition, we contacted Education and the General Services' Division of the State Architect, both of which have responsibilities related to the facilities program. Madera Unified School District 09/18/2015 Merced City School District 09/01/2015 Milpitas Unified School District 06/05/2015 Montebello Unified School District 06/29/2007 Morongo Unified School District 07/20/2015 National School District 09/22/2015 Newport-Mesa Unified School District 11/07/2013 Figure 1 is a flowchart that outlines the facilities programs application process for modernization funding. However, only a relatively small number of districtsabout 290out of approximately 1,150districts statewidehave never participated in the program. This audits scope did not include a review of the States efforts to comply with this settlement agreement. California School Dashboard. Accordingly, twocritical steps typically precede any school bond funding becoming available through the facilities program: the Legislature enacts a bill authorizing the bond measures placement on the ballot and a majority of voters approves that bond measure. However, this additional $2.2billion was not sufficient to fund new applications for a significant amount of time. as we describe in the next section, regular estimates of the need for modernization funding that are in part based on building age data would benefit the State as it plans for these needs. This report presents a summary of the results of our self-initiated audits assessing the efficiency of selected processes at three selected retail units in the California 6 District. Education Codes - Local Education Agency (LEA) Audit Guidelines (CA This district was disadvantaged by the Allocation Boards first-come, first-served approach to facilities program funding. Boddy, Adi and O'Connor voted to approve an internal audit, while Casper and . This report summarizes financial results of 443 audit reports. Government Operations Agency, The State Can Improve the School Facilities Program by Increasing Funding and Making Changes to Improve Equity, The State Should Continue Using Bond Funding to Assist Districts With Modernization Projects, C. A. Neilson, S. D. Zimmerman, The Effect of School Construction on Test Scores, School Enrollment, and Home Prices,. The OPSC serves as staff to the Allocation Board. Next to this text, there is a graphic of a building under construction, the broken piggy bank with a band aid taped over its crack and a coin going into its coin slot, and a new picture of an updated school building. We determined these data are sufficiently reliable for our auditpurposes. Additionally, state law allows the Allocation Board to provide charter school projects with a preliminary apportionment, or a reservation of bond authority, so that the charter school knows funds are set aside for a project before it or its district spends money on the full cost of compiling a funding application. Financial Reporting and Disclosure - Riverside Unified School District 2The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is an independent, bipartisan agency established by Congress in 1957. Caliornia State Auditor Report 2016141 1 Octoer 2017 Audit Highlights . However, local funding is not always available or sufficient to cover districts' modernization needs. They also indicated that theydo not maintain these data. The OPSC deputy executive officer estimated that without the ARBBA list, districts generally waited about four months to receive Allocation Board approval. Are districts subject to nancial audits? Secretary Specifically, state law defines modernization as any modification of a permanent structure that is at least 25years old or a portable classroom that is at least 20years old that will enhance the structures ability to achieve educational purposes. The school districts we reviewed primarily fund these projects through local bond measures that district voters must approve. The textbox lists common types of modernization projects. San Diego Unified School District Office of the Controller Financial Accounting 4100 Normal Street Room 3244 San Diego, CA 92103 (619) 725-7588 - Phone (619) 725-7584 - Fax. We identified the fiveother states with public school systems that have the largest total revenue and expenditures after California and determined how they finance school maintenance and modernization projects. In2004 the State settled a class action lawsuit filed by students who attended schools with overcrowded and inadequate facilities, among other things. Accordingly, we do not reach any conclusions about these efforts. Specifically, the OPSC could use valid and reliable datasuch as the data it already possesses, perhaps combined with data it could obtain through a survey of a statistically significant number of school districts every other yearto project the age of school buildings statewide. State Controller's Office, Division of Audits Status Report - Fiscal Year 2020 7/5/2023 3:12:18 PM Page 6 of 53 Entity Code Entity Submission Due Date Delinquent Desk Review Status: Accepted w/ ASF Ventura County 5672611 Somis Union School District 3/31/2021 Yolo County 5700000 Yolo County Office of Education 3/31/2021 Management Organization