June 29, 2007 Letter to School District Administrators

Date: June 29, 2007

To: School District Administrators

From:
David Carlson, Director
School Financial Services Team

Re:
2007-08 July 1 General Aid Estimate
2007-08 Revenue Limit Calculation Estimate
OPEB (Other Post Employment Benefits) Update
Upcoming Mailings and Other Information

2007-08 July 1 General Aid Estimate

Enclosed please find the July 1 estimate, per s. 121.15(4)(b), Wis. Stats., of your district’s 2007-08 general state aid. General state aid is defined as equalization, special adjustment, and special transfer (Chapter 220) aid. This estimate is based upon data from the following sources:

• Audited 2006-07 membership reports on file at the department. The online detail membership report is found on each district’s home page within the School Financial Services (SFS) Reporting Portal.

• Your district’s May 2007 certification of 2006 School Aid values. These values do not reflect any reorganization value adjustments that become effective July 1, 2007. The adjusted values will be included on the October 15 certification of aid eligibility worksheet.

• Shared cost data computed from your district’s 2006-07 Budget Report as of June 15, 2007.

• Shared cost modification data as submitted by districts on the PI 1505 WRS as of June 15, 2007.

• Those items currently included in the 2007-09 state biennial budget, through the actions of the Governor and the Joint Committee on Finance. The two major items of importance include:

• For all school districts, general equalization aid funding of $4,802,065,100.

• For Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) only, a proposed change to the current funding split for the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP), beginning with the 2007-08 school year. This proposal would provide that, for the first 15,000 students participating in the MPCP, the state would fund 55% of the cost

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of the MPCP payments, with MPS’s general equalization aids being reduced by an amount equal to 45% of the MPCP cost. The proposal would also provide that the state would fund all MPCP costs for all students above 15,000 attending a school in the MPCP.

Note that this aid calculation is an estimate and is subject to the final provisions of the 2007-09 Biennial Budget.

The department will certify your district’s official general aid eligibility on October 15, using your district’s 2006-07 PI 1505 Annual Report AC (Aid Certification) data as verified by school district auditors on the PI 1506 AC. The October 15 certification of aid should be used in the calculation of your district’s 2007-08 revenue limit which the district uses to determine tax levies.

The July 1 aid estimate and membership worksheets are available on the team’s website under “Worksheets” on the left hand scan bar, under “Late Breaking Information” or directly at http://dpi.wi.gov/sfs/workdpi.html. A 2007-2008 Excel blank equalization worksheet with the July 1 guarantees is available under “Worksheets” on the left hand scan bar or directly at http://dpi.wi.gov/sfs/xls/eqaid08.xls.

2007-08 Revenue Limit Calculation Estimate

The 2007-08 Excel Revenue Limit calculation worksheet has been updated to incorporate the July 1 aid estimate on line 12. Note that the data on line 12 will change when the department certifies your district’s aid eligibility on October 15.

The 2007-08 worksheet also includes updated data from the 2006-07 Final Revenue Limit calculation. Updated data may include a revised 2007-08 base computation, revised prior year membership counts and/or eligible carryover from the 2006-07 computation, as reflected on line 8A. Finally, known referenda amounts effective for the 2007-08 Revenue Limit Calculation have been added to lines 8E and 10A.

The worksheet is located under “Late Breaking Information” or “Budget Development and Planning” on the team’s home webpage or directly at http://dpi.wi.gov/sfs/revlimworksheet.html.

Reminder: this worksheet is provided as a guide. Districts are responsible for the calculation of their revenue limit.

OPEB (Other Post Employment Benefits) Update

Districts that have established or plan to establish a Fund 73 Other Post Employment Benefits Trust should review the enclosed document that updates prior information and provides new information including new district requirements for categorical aid eligibility. This information is located on the team’s website under “Benefit Trust Fund” on the left hand scan bar of the team’s website or directly at http://dpi.wi.gov/sfs/emp_benefit_trust_fund.html. The document is entitled, “Employee Benefit Fund (Fund 73) Requirements.”

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Upcoming Mailings and Other Information

Date	Event
July 2	Due Date for Transfer of Service Requests
July 2	PI 1505 AC/PI 1505 Census Reports Open for Data Entry
July 16	PI 1506 AC Open for Data Entry (Auditors)
July 23	Delayed 2006-2007 Equalization Aid Payment/2006-2007 Computer Exemption Aid Payment
August 1	PI 1547 Pupil Transportation/PI 1505 Calendar Reports Due
August 24	PI 1505 Census Report Due
August 31	PI 1505 AC Report Due
September 6	Tentative Mailing: PI 1563 September Pupil Count Report Instructions; PI 1588 Supplemental Aid Program Report Instructions; PI 1547 Summer 2007 Transportation Report Instructions
September 7	PI 1505 SE (Special Education) Report Due
September 14	PI 1506 AC Due (Filed by District Auditor)
September 21	September Third Friday Count Date
October 1	PI 1505 Annual Report/PI 1524 State Tuition/PI 1563 Pupil Count Report/PI 1804/1805 Summer School Report Due

The School Financial Services (SFS) team website address is http://dpi.wi.gov/sfs/index.html. Should you have additional questions, please contact one of the following finance team consultants:

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

Enclosure: 2007-08 District General Aid Estimate
“Employee Benefit Fund (Fund 73) Requirements”

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

Last updated on 2/25/2008 12:03:57 PM