January 2, 2007 Mailing to District Administrators -January Pupil Count Report - PI 1563 Information

DATE:                    January 2, 2007

TO:                         School District Administrators

FROM:                   David Carlson, Director
                                School Financial Services Team

SUBJECT:            January Pupil Count Report - PI 1563 Information 2006-2007 Common School Fund (Library) Aid 2006-2007 Budget Report Amendments School Days and Hours of Instruction Upcoming Mailings and Important Dates

January Pupil Count Report - PI 1563 Information

Please route the following information to the individual(s) who completes the January Pupil Count Report, PI 1563, for your district. The pupil count date is Friday, January 12, and the report is due Monday, January 29.

The PI 1563 Internet Pupil Count Report is accessed through the Reporting Portal link on the School Financial Services Team website located at http://dpi.wi.gov/sfs/index.html. Pupil count report instructions and a spreadsheet are again available under the “Membership Report” link on the left hand scan bar or directly at http://dpi.wi.gov/sfs/doc/guidelinesforcounting.doc and http://dpi.wi.gov/sfs/xls/pi1563_worksheet.xls.

The PI 1563 Pupil Count Report will close at the end of the day on Monday, January 29. Districts will receive a mailing dated January 30 indicating whether or not the district will have a required membership audit. This information will be posted to the team’s website on January 30.

Districts that need to amend their pupil count after January 30 will do so by one of two ways:

• If your district has a membership audit, simply go into the reporting portal and make the changes. The auditor will verify any changes upon completion of the audit.


• If your district does not have a membership audit, send an email to dpisfsreports@dpi.wi.gov requesting to open the portal. You will be advised via an email response when the portal will be open for revisions. Contact Janette Gosdeck, School Financial Services Team, at 608-267-9218 or by email at janette.gosdeck@dpi.wi.gov should you have questions.

If your district is unable to hold school on January 12, a request for an alternative pupil count date must be submitted to the State Superintendent (s. 121.05(3), Wis. Stats.). Address your request to Debbie Gaffney Dilley, School Financial Services Team, by e-mail at debra.gaffney-dilley@dpi.wi.gov. Please specify the alternative date that you are requesting. In most circumstances, the date should be either the Thursday before or the Monday after the Friday count date.

2006-2007 Common School Fund (Library) Aid

Each year school districts receive common school funds (library aid) that are to be used to purchase library books and other instructional materials. The funding source for this aid is income generated from the state’s common school fund, which is primarily derived from interest payments on loans made from the fund to municipalities and school districts by the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands (BCPL). Under the Constitution, revenues from certain fines and forfeitures and the sale of public lands are also deposited in the common school fund.

The common school fund payment to districts for the 2006-2007 school year will be $23.08 per census student. This new figure is based upon the BCPL estimate of $29,000,000 being available for distribution as of April 16, 2007. Although this is an estimate and cannot be absolutely guaranteed, it is a conservative estimate and the department feels confident that this is the amount that will be distributed. Payments to districts will be made on Monday, April 30, 2007.

The calculation of each school district’s Common School Fund (library aid) is available on the team's website. Click on the "Aid Information" link on the left hand column scan bar of the team's home webpage or go to the website address: http://dpi.wi.gov/sfs/comsch.html. Additional information about the Common School Fund can be found on the website referenced above. Reminder: districts must spend in the identified 222 000 400 function object accounts, an amount equal to the library aid they received within the fiscal year, as required by statute. Some districts will receive an additional letter enclosure in this mailing if the district in the 2005-2006 school year did not spend an amount equivalent to library aid received in that year.

2006-2007 Budget Report Amendments

Districts that officially amend their budget by school board action should also amend the PI 1504 Budget Report. This will ensure that the data used by the department in equalization aid estimates including the statutorily required July 1 aid estimate, uses the most up-to-date data available. Districts may amend their budget report data by entering the budget report program on line and making the changes. Please remember to click on the “Submit to DPI” button.

Note: districts can enter the reporting portal and view budget report data without a password. A password is required only when entering or amending budget report data.

Days and Hours of Instruction

Please refer to the attached document that provides information regarding required school days and hours of instruction.

Upcoming Mailings and Important Dates

Date	Event
January 12	Second Friday Pupil Count Date/PI 1563 Report Opens for Data Entry
January 16	Special Education Aid Payment
January 29	Transportation Aid Payment/PI 1563 Pupil Count Report Due
January 30	Mailing – District Notification of Required Membership Audit
February 12	SAGE Aid Payment
February 20	Special Education Aid Payment
March 19	Special Education Aid Payment
March 26	Equalization Aid/Special Adjustment Aid Payment

Please contact one of the following School Financial Services Team consultants should you have questions:

Brad Adams bradley.adams@dpi.wi.gov (608) 267-3752
Lori Ames lori.ames@dpi.wi.gov (608) 266-3464
Karen Kucharz karen.kucharz@dpi.wi.gov (608) 267-9707

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Enclosure: Common School Fund Letter (Some Districts) School Days and Hours of Instruction

For questions about this information, contact dpifin@dpi.wi.gov (608) 267-9114

Last updated on 2/25/2008 12:03:51 PM