005.01.07 Ark. Code R. § 005 - ADE 266: Rules Governing Athletic Expenditures For Public School Districts
1.00
Regulatory Authority
1.01 These
rules are enacted pursuant to the Arkansas State Board of Education authority
under A.C. A. §§
6-11-105,
6-20-2000 et seq.,
6-16-137,
and Act 255 of 2007 Regular Session.
1.02 These rules shall be known as the
Arkansas Department of Education Rules Governing Athletic Expenditures for
Public School Districts.
2.00
Purpose
2.01 The purpose of these rules is to
establish the procedures to be followed by public school districts in coding
and implementing financial reporting of athletic
expenditures.
3.00
Definitions
For the purposes of this rule, the following terms shall mean:
3.01 "Arkansas Activities
Association" means the organization which serves as the centralized governing
agency for all interschool athletic competitions.
3.02 "Athletic Coach" means an employee of a
district who is assigned direct responsibility for guiding a team engaged in an
athletic program and competing with other schools subject to the regulations of
the Arkansas Activities Association.
3.03 "Athletic Expenditures" means all direct
and indirect expenses related to interschool athletic programs, prorated if
necessary.
3.04 "Classroom Teacher"
means an individual who is required to hold a teaching license from the
Department of Education and who is engaged directly in instruction of students
in a classroom setting for more than seventy percent (70%) of the individual's
contracted time.
3.05 "Interschool
Athletic Program" means any athletic program which is organized primarily for
the purpose of competing with other schools, public and/or private or any
athletic program subject to regulation by the Arkansas Activities
Association.
3.06 "State Funds"
means all money derived from state revenues, specially including but not
limited to, distributions from the Department of Education and ad valorem
property taxes distributed to a public school district.
4.00
Financial Coding
Requirements
4.01 These financial
coding requirements are in effect for the 2006-2007 school year.
4.02 All athletic expenditures must be
charged to a budget unit containing the appropriate fund, source of fund,
function, and location codes.
4.03
The program code 115 must be used for all athletic expenditures.
4.04 Salaries and benefits of a classroom
teacher assigned to a class of students participating in an interschool
athletic program must be coded as an athletic expenditure even if the course is
offered for physical education credit.
4.05 Expenditures for property insurance,
utilities, and all other maintenance expenditures must be charged to athletics
based upon the portion of the expenditures used to support athletic
activities.
4.06 Districts may use
an allocation method to identify the portions of district expenditures used to
support athletic activities. One allocation method approved by ADE is to
allocate these costs based on the percentage of athletic salaries paid from the
teacher salary fund compared to total salaries paid from the teacher salary
fund. Districts may allocate utility bills based on square footage. Maintenance
may be based on actual documented expenditures and square footage.
4.07 All allocation methods are subject to
Legislative Audit review and must be well documented.
4.08 All travel, including bus-related
operation and maintenance, to and from any interschool athletic program event
for students, faculty, spirit groups, band, or patrons of the district must be
coded as athletic expenditures.
4.09 If a district does not adopt its own
allocation method for transportation costs, the district must use the
state-wide average student transportation cost per mile as determined by ADE.
Districts must maintain all documentation supporting any alternative allocation
methods.
5.00
Salaries and Benefits for Coaches
5.01
Coaching stipends and related benefits must be charged to athletics.
5.02 All pay for extended contract days
pertaining to athletics and the related benefits to those days of pay must be
charged to athletics.
5.03 The base
salary contract for athletic coaches as indicated by the district's base
teacher's salary schedule must be allocated between athletics and nonathletics
if during the school day, the athletic coach is assigned to classes for
students participating in an interschool athletic program.
5.04 For purposes of allocating salaries and
benefits of athletic coaches, preparation periods in excess of one period must
be allocated to athletics.
5.05
Current year salaries and benefits should be used by districts for allocation
calculations. The allocation percentage can be determined immediately following
the last payroll for the current school year.
5.06 Salaries paid to interschool athletic
program personnel in positions requiring a teaching license must be paid from
the teacher salary fund and will, therefore, always be considered paid from
state funds.
6.00
Required Reporting
6.01 Local school
boards of each school district must provide to the Department of Education an
annual report of prior year athletic expenditures and current year budgets by
September 15 of each year.
6.02 The
content for the required athletic expenditure report is obtained from
information districts submit in cycle 1.
6.03 ADE shall produce the required report
and budget required in Section 6.01 from information submitted by the districts
regarding athletics expenditures and district budgets.
6.04 The report shall include athletic
expenditures from state funds only and budgets from state funds
only.
7.00
Revenues
7.00 Gate receipts,
private donations, revenues from fund raisers, and any other non-state revenue
pertaining to the athletic programs shall be deposited in the activity fund
(Fund 7). Funds raised for shared building projects or shared equipment
purchases may be transferred to the appropriate fund.
8.00
Required Reviews
8.01 The Division of Legislative Audit shall
conduct a review of athletic expenditure reports and Department of Education
rules.
8.02 Legislative Audit shall
annually review twenty percent (20%) of the districts to evaluate the
district's implementation of current laws and rules.
8.03 If Legislative Audit determines that for
any given year the Division has insufficient staff to conduct the reviews as
required by Act 255 of the regular 2007 session, then the Division may
establish the number of districts that will be reviewed for that
year.
9.00
Sanctions
9.01 Any school district
failing to comply with the provisions of A.C.A.
6-20-2003(b)
and the rules adopted by the state board for the implementation of required
reporting of athletic expenditures shall be identified by the Department of
Education to be in fiscal distress in accordance with A.C.A.
6-20-1901 et
seq.
Notes
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