Pupil Count, Library Aid, Budget Report, School Days, Upcoming Mailings and Important Dates

Date: January 4, 2005

To: School District Administrators

From: David Carlson, Director
School Financial Services Team

Re: January Pupil Count Report - PI 1563 Information
2004-2005 Common School Fund (Library) Aid
2004-2005 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 14 and the report is due Friday, January 28.

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

The PI 1563 Pupil Count Report program will close at the end of the day on Friday, January 28. Districts will receive a mailing dated January 31 indicating whether or not the district will have a required membership audit. This information will be posted to the team's website on January 31. Districts that need to amend their pupil count after January 28 will do so either through the auditor process (if the district has a required membership audit) or by sending an e-mail to *dpisfsreports@dpi.wi.gov. Contact Janette Gosdeck, School Financial Services Team at (608) 267-9218 or by e-mail at Janette.Gosdeck@dpi.wi.gov should you have questions.

If your district is unable to hold school on January 14, 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 Molly Koranda, School Financial Services Team, by e-mail at Molly.Koranda@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.

2004-2005 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 2004-2005 school year will be $19.52 per census student. This new figure is based upon the BCPL estimate of $24,515,655 million being available for distribution as of April 15, 2005. The Department of Public Instruction will make payments to districts on Monday, April 25, 2005.

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: dpi.wi.us/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.

2004-2005 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 accurate data available. Districts can amend their budget report data by entering the budget report program on the Internet and making the changes and clicking on the "Submit to DPI" button.

Note that districts can now 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 14	Second Friday Pupil Count Date
January 18	Special Education Aid Payment
January 28	PI 1563 Pupil Count Report Due
January 31	Transportation Aid Payment Mailing - District Notification of Required Membership Audit
January 31	High Cost Special Education Aid Claim Due - PI 1570
February 14	SAGE Aid Payment
February 22	Special Education Aid Payment
March 21	Special Education Aid Payment
March 28	Equalization Aid Payment

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

Brad Adams	(608) 267-3752	bradley.adams@dpi.wi.gov
Karen Kucharz	(608) 267-9707	karen.kucharz@dpi.wi.gov

Enc: 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 12:03:53 PM