WGU D023 SCHOOL FINANCIAL LEADERSHIP,WITH
GUARANTEED CORRECT ANSWERS/ SOLUTIONS A+.
Governmental Funds - CORRECT ANSWERS -A generic classification used by the
GASB to refer to all funds other than proprietary and fiduciary funds. The General Fund,
special revenue funds, capital projects funds, debt service funds, and permanent funds
are the types of funds referred to as governmental funds.
Reserved Fund Balance - CORRECT ANSWERS -The part of the fund balance on the
balance sheet that indicates that some amounts are not available for appropriation or
expenditure. The creation of this requires action by governing council. Examples:
encumbrances, petty cash, inventories, advances.
Unreserved Fund Balance - CORRECT ANSWERS -The part of the fund balance on the
balance sheet which may be further divided into Designated and Undesignated funds
designated funds - CORRECT ANSWERS -contributions which the donor has
designated to a specific voluntary agency(ies), federation(s), or general option(s).
undesignated funds - CORRECT ANSWERS -funds that have not been allocated and
are available for new expenditures not already encumbered
Proprietary Funds - CORRECT ANSWERS -Sometimes referred to as income-
determination, business-like, or commercial-type funds of a state or local government.
Examples are enterprise funds and internal service funds.
Fiduciary Funds - CORRECT ANSWERS -The trust and agency funds used to account
for assets held by a government unit in a trustee capacity or as an agent for individuals,
private organizations, other government units, or other funds.
cost accounting - CORRECT ANSWERS -Cost accounting has two primary values: (1)
It provides information for in-school choices and decisions in the expenditure of funds
and (2) costs for the same services can be compared with those of other schools.
Encumbrance accounting - CORRECT ANSWERS -Most common, created to ensure
we don't spend same money twice b/c of a delay
(a) encumbrances outstanding at year-end should be disclosed in the notes to the
financial statements or by reservation of fund balance and (b) the subsequent year's
appropriations should provide authority to complete these transactions.
Where appropriations do not lapse at year-end, or only unencumbered appropriations
lapse, encumbrances outstanding at year-end should be reported as reservations of
fund balance for subsequent-year expenditures based on the encumbered appropriation
authority carried over.
,Accrual Basis Accounting - CORRECT ANSWERS -the method of accounting that
recognizes revenue when it is earned and matches expenses to the revenues they
helped produce
-less common, happens at district level
-only used with things like school store
object codes in accounting (what, how, why) - CORRECT ANSWERS -t is helpful to be
able to track an individual expenditure by all three of these methods—object, function,
and program, and in the future perhaps by educational strategy at the school level. In
addition, it is often helpful to track expenditures by the location where the expenditure is
made. Locations usually include the schools in the district, the central office, and other
areas and subareas as determined by the district.
Hundreds- object codes
Thousands- function codes
1st Development Stage of School Finance - CORRECT ANSWERS -The period of local
district financial responsibility, with little or no assistance from the state
-used to be local or church
-rate bills or tuition
-problem in equity
2nd Development Stage of School Finance - CORRECT ANSWERS -The period of
emerging state responsibility, with the use of flat grants, subventions, and other
nonequalizing state allocations to local districts
-state to supplement local tax revenues to provide acceptable programs
3rd Development Stage of School Finance - CORRECT ANSWERS -The emergence of
the Strayer-Haig concept of a foundation program (minimum program)
-Each local district would levy the amount of local tax that was required in the richest
district of the state to provide a foundation, or minimum, program. The rich district would
receive no state funds; the other districts would receive state funds necessary to
provide the foundation program.
4th Development Stage of School Finance - CORRECT ANSWERS -The period of
refinement of the foundation program concept
-use of flat grants
-question to take money from wealthy districts to equalize
5th Development Stage of School Finance - CORRECT ANSWERS -"Power" or "open-
end" (shared costs) equalization practices
-20th century
Equalization - CORRECT ANSWERS -state and local districts began exercising a
degree of partnership in establishing and paying for a basic program of education for
every school-age child in the state—at least in theory. In practice, the link between
funding and program quality was questionable.
, open-ended, or shared-cost, equalization plan - CORRECT ANSWERS -the percentage
of this program to be paid by each individual district and by the state. This percentage of
state funds would be high for poor districts and low for wealthier ones. Once that
determination has been made for each district, the same partnership ratio would be
maintained to pay the total cost of the school program in each district
-Harlan Updegraff
6th Development Stage of School Finance - CORRECT ANSWERS -The shift of
emphasis and influence, and funding for special need
-economic factors influenced (wars, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, fluctuating prices
in energy, had to rethink budget and safety of schools
7th Development Stage of School Finance - CORRECT ANSWERS -A focus on
adequacy in education finance
-court cases
-sufficient funding is needed to meet state laws, standards, and requirements, and must
be constitutionally enforceable
-CCSS
Foundational funding - CORRECT ANSWERS -The state provides a minimal level of
funding as a guarantee per student expenditure. The intent of this system is to
counteract the disparity of wealth across various districts of a state.
Common School Era - CORRECT ANSWERS -Local school districts were formed to
support the education of the local population, many of whom were the children of
immigrants. In order to accommodate this influx of educational need with limited
personal resources, local property taxes became mandated to support public schools.
Early Colonial Schooling - CORRECT ANSWERS -Funded through tuition or rate
changes, primarily as a funding of the local community or church of that community.
Funding for public schools is directly addressed in which document? - CORRECT
ANSWERS -State Constitution
-The funding and operation of public schools is directly addressed in each state's
constitution. Access to education and the quality are different depending upon how the
state defines its language. For example, a "right" to education is different than a "goal"
to educate all citizens. A "right" provides grounds for equity and equality litigation while
a "goal" may provide more flexibility in disparity.
What is meant by pupil expenditure? - CORRECT ANSWERS -The pupil expenditure is
the total expense accounted for by that specific student. For example, this funding
amount includes but is not limited to: personnel expenses (salary, benefits, and other
human resource expenses), transportation costs (gas, busses, oil, personnel), facility
expenses (building construction, maintenance, utilities, insurance), and instructional
resources (books, supplies, technology, materials). The amount of this pupil expenditure
