Iowa Admin. Code r. 289-6.4 - [Effective 7/2/2025] Budgets

(1) Generally accepted accounting principles. All school districts and AEAs shall budget on the GAAP basis of budgeting as defined by GASB and as implemented in Uniform Financial Accounting for Iowa LEAs and AEAs (UFA) that is in effect on April 2, 2025. School districts and AEAs shall use the chart of accounts defined in the UFA.

(2) Accounting and reporting. School districts and AEAs shall maintain financial records and prepare financial reports, including the certified annual report, in the manner and by the procedures prescribed by the department of education or department of management in the UFA and by GAAP. School districts and AEAs shall use the prescribed chart of accounts.

(3) Negative unspent balances (exceeding authorized budgets). If the school district has incurred a negative unspent balance, it shall notify the committee no later than October 15 and begin developing its corrective action plan to avoid future negative unspent balances.

a. A listing of the unspent balance as well as the unexpended fund balance of each school district for each fiscal year shall be reviewed by the committee. The unspent balance and the unexpended fund balance shall be presented on the GAAP basis.

b. The amount of any negative unspent balance shall be automatically subtracted from the authorized budget of a given school district during the subsequent fiscal year.

c. The state board of education may be notified of the school districts with negative unspent balances each year. The notification shall include the amount by which the school district exceeded its authorized budget.

d. The board president of each school district with a negative unspent balance shall be notified of the amount by which the school district exceeded its authorized budget. The school districts shall inform the committee at the committee's next regularly scheduled session of the plans that are being implemented to avoid future negative unspent balances.

e. The committee may require the district to continue to report progress on the district's plans at regular intervals as determined by the committee until the committee is satisfied that the district's financial condition concerns have been resolved.

(4) Cash reserve levy.

a. Annually the school budget review committee shall review the amount of property tax levied by each school district for the cash reserve authorized in Iowa Code section 298.10.

b. If, in the committee's judgment, the amount of a district's cash reserve levy is unreasonably high or is in excess of the amount necessary for operations, the committee shall instruct the district to use the unexpended fund balance in lieu of levying property taxes and shall direct the director of the department of management to limit that school district's cash reserve levy to a level that is not excessive as determined by the committee and does not exceed the cash reserve limitation in paragraph 6.4(4)"c."

c. The cash reserve levies for the budget year shall not exceed 20 percent of the general fund expenditures for the year previous to the base year minus the general fund unexpended fund balance for the year previous to the base year. The expenditures and the fund balances shall be determined on the GAAP basis. For purposes of this subrule, "unexpended fund balance" shall mean the combined assigned and unassigned fund balances in the general fund.

d. A reduction in a district's property tax levy for a budget year for cash reserve shall not affect the school district's authorized budget.

Notes

Iowa Admin. Code r. 289-6.4

ARC 0088C, lAB 4/18/12, effective 5/23/12 Adopted by IAB May 28, 2025/Volume XLVII, Number 24, effective 7/2/2025