The Bottom Line
Understanding the Financial Picture
The current economic climate is creating financial challenges for individuals and organizations nationwide. Springfield Public Schools is carefully monitoring its finances to ensure it remains as fiscally responsible as possible. The Bottom Line is the place to find the latest news about Springfield Public Schools' finances. Check back frequently for regular updates.
Latest Financial News
Sept. 13 - Audit information page now online
Springfield Public Schools will undergo a performance audit by the Missouri State Auditor’s Office, beginning in fall 2010. The audit is expected to take about 12 months to complete. A final report will be issued by the State Auditor's Office at the conclusion of the audit.
To keep stakeholders informed throughout the process, the school district has created a web page where frequently asked questions, relevant links and information will be posted.
Sept. 13 - Springfield school board to meet with state auditor Sept. 21
Springfield Public Schools Board of Education will meet with State Auditor Susan Montee during a public meeting at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 21, in Meeting Room A at Kraft Administrative Center, 1359 E. St. Louis St. The school board’s regular session will convene at 6 p.m., following the meeting with the auditor.
Montee will describe the state audit process to the school board and allow school board members an opportunity to ask any questions they might have. This meeting is the first step of a state audit of the school district, which was initiated via citizen petition process last fall.
The public is welcome to attend the meeting; however, the agenda does not allow for comments from the public.
The State Auditor’s Office has informed the school district that audit staff will be on site beginning in October to initiate fieldwork, explained Steve Chodes, the district’s chief financial officer. “During this phase, which could last several months, audit staff will gather information and documents, interview SPS staff and review policies and procedures,” he said.
The auditor’s office has estimated the entire audit process could take more than 12 months and cost the district an estimated $180,000, Chodes said. Read more.
Aug. 26 - Statement from Dr. Ridder concerning the state audit
As you know, Springfield Public Schools will undergo a performance audit by the Missouri state auditor’s office. That process will begin sometime this fall, and is expected to take about 12 months to complete. A final report will be issued in the fall of 2011. We are finalizing plans for State Auditor Susan Montee to visit Springfield in September. We will share those details with you as soon as they are confirmed.
As part of the audit process, members of the audit team will spend considerable time in our district. They will work closely with our finance department and possibly be visiting schools and other departments as well. Our district emphasizes openness and transparency in our financial management and budgeting process, to the point that SPS has been nationally recognized for those efforts. I can assure you that we will work closely with the auditor’s office to make this process as effective as possible.
The board and I have said since the petition drive for an audit began that we welcome the state auditor’s scrutiny, and we are confident that the auditor will find the state’s second largest school district to be one of the most efficient and effective. Read the full statement here.
Aug. 26 - Clarification: News-Leader editorial cites inaccurate allegations
An editorial in the Wednesday, August 25, edition of the News-Leader cited several allegations identified by a group originally calling for SPS to undergo a state audit. Read the full response here.
Aug. 26 - Clarification: Response to audit concerns in Community Free Press
The June 30 through July 13 edition of the Community Free Press cited several allegations by the Taxpayer Coalition to Audit Springfield Public Schools that allege wrongdoing on the part of the district. Read the full response here.
August 5 - Springfield Public Schools recognized for budget, financial reporting practices
Springfield Public Schools received a series of awards recently for its openness and accessibility in its financial reporting practices.
The district received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association and the Meritorious Budget Award from the Association of School Business Officials International for the preparation and issuance of the annual budget. These awards recognize the district’s effective use of resources, budget planning and industry leading practices in presenting a clear budget for a public entity. These awards were for the 2009-2010 school year.
Springfield Public Schools was also honored for its transparency and openness for its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. The district earned a Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting from ASBO and a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from GFOA. The Comprehensive Annual Financial Report is a comprehensive document detailing the district’s financial activities and operating results. The CAFR is prepared in conformance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and was audited by Daniel Jones & Associates CPAs, receiving an unqualified (the highest) opinion for the 17th year in a row. These awards recognize the CAFR for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009.
The district also received GFOA’s Award for Outstanding Achievement for its Popular Annual Financial Report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009. The PAFR is an accessible, easily understandable report of the district’s financial activity. The intention of this report is to communicate SPS’ financial situation in an open and accountable manner for the general public. This was the first year SPS issued a PAFR.
Springfield Public Schools is committed to an effective and efficient use of resources. District budget books and both the PAFR and CAFR are available online. In addition to these reports, SPS maintains a financial news and information blog, The Bottom Line, to keep the community updated in real time with the district’s financial situation, bond project updates and other information.
July 22 - State estimates $600 million budget deficit for 2012 fiscal year
The governor's office currently estimates that Missouri will face a budget shortfall of $600 million for the 2012 budget year which begins in July 2011. Similar to the situation for the current year, it is likely that this budget shortfall will directly impact revenue SPS receives from the state for the 2011-2012 school year.
June 29 - Board approves 2010-2011 budget that includes $5.1 million in cuts
The board of education approved the budget for the 2010-2011 school year at its June meeting. Declining revenues from the state and an increase of approximately $2.4 million in necessary expenditures, including increased contributions to the retirement system, utility costs, legal fees, and urgent facility maintenance needs required more than $5.1 million in reductions. This is the third consecutive year that Springfield Public Schools has made significant reductions to its budget, totaling more than $15 million over that period. The 2010-2011 budget reduces total staffing by 57 FTE (full time equivalent) via attrition, as well as reductions to Parents As Teachers, fuel and utility costs, purchased services and other areas.
Final cuts to the state budget made by the governor’s office last week included a $70 million reduction in transportation dollars intended for Missouri’s public schools. The net impact to SPS was a further budget reduction of $850,000. To make up for the last minute shortfall, a proposal calling for $500,000 to fund a half percent pay increase for staff to offset an increase in retirement contributions was eliminated. A proposed addition of $350,000 to the district’s reserve fund was also eliminated from the final budget.
June 28 - Board to vote on 2010-2011 budget at its June regular meeting
The Springfield Public Schools board of education will vote on the budget for the 2010-2011 school year at its June regular meeting on Tuesday, June 29, at 5:30 p.m. Despite cuts of more than $10 million over the previous two years, SPS faces flat revenues for the 2010-2011 school year and an increase of approximately $2.4 million in necessary expenditures, including increased contributions to the retirement system, utility costs, legal fees, and urgent facility maintenance needs. The proposed 2010-2011 budget includes more than $5.1 million in reductions.
June 17 - Final cuts to state budget impact SPS transportation numbers
Finals cuts to the state budget made this week by the governor included a $70 million reduction to transportation dollars intended for the state's schools. That decision will result in a reduction of approximately $850,000 for Springfield Public Schools. The state also cut transportation in 2009-2010.
June 16 - Final budget numbers awaiting governor's decision
A decision by the Governor of Missouri could alter the 2010-2011 budget for Springfield Public Schools, according to an update presented to the school board at its June study session. The governor is expected to cut an additional $350 million from the budget approved by the state legislature. These cuts could impact state education spending and SPS specifically. At the moment, SPS’ budget for 2010-2011 reflects the decision by the legislature to leave the foundation formula unchanged, resulting in an additional $850,000 above what the district had presented in its proposed budget last month. The current budget calls for $500,000 of that revenue to fund a half percent pay increase for staff to offset an increase in retirement contributions. The remaining $350,000 will be directed to the reserve fund. A decision from the governor’s office is expected this Friday or the following Friday.
May 13 - Audio of May 10 budget conference call now available
SPS held a conference call for members of the local media on Monday, May 10, with Steve Chodes, the district's chief financial officer. He provided an overview of the proposed budget for the 2010-2011 school year that was presented to the board at their budget work session that evening. You can download and listen to the audio of the conference call here.
May 11 - Board reviews proposed 2010-2011 budget
At a work session dedicated to the preparation of the 2010-2011 budget, Springfield Public Schools’ board of education asked administration to prepare a revised budget proposal for 2010-2011 reflecting a 0.5 percent salary adjustment for employees that would offset an increased contribution to the state retirement system. The 0.5 salary adjustment will come from a reduction of approximately 10 FTE in addition to a reduction of 57 FTE in the proposed budget. Read a summary of the board's budget work session, including more information about reductions in the proposed 2010-2011 budget.
May 10 - Board will hold budget work session
The school board will meet at 5 p.m. Monday, May 10, at Hickory Hills School to conduct a budget work session.
The board was originally scheduled to review the preliminary 2010-2011 budget at a work session April 6. That meeting was postponed, however, due to the lack of certainty about factors affecting state funding. During the May 10 work session, the board will receive a preliminary budget, which will outline proposed expenditure reductions for next year. View the budget materials that will be presented to the board May 10.
May 5 - Board authorizes sale of $22.25 million in bonds toward 2009 bond issue
At its May 4 study sessison, the board authorized the sale of $22.25 million in bonds as part of the $50 million bond approved by voters in November 2009. The total sale comes from two bond programs: the $10.067 million through the Recovery Zone Economic Development Bonds issued to the City of Springfield and transferred to SPS and $12.183 million in general obligation bonds through the Build America Bonds program. Both bond programs are part of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Because the bonds are available through the federal economic stimulus package, the district can take advantage of lower interest rates.
April 13 - State funding update for 2009-2010
We are hearing promising things out of Jefferson City today. Gov. Jay Nixon announced that he will distribute funding cuts for this school year among all 523 Missouri school districts rather than exempt more than 150 "hold harmless" school districts. Legislation previously approved by both the House and Senate would have left 372 school districts, including Springfield Public Schools, shouldering the burden of the funding cuts.
We appreciate Gov. Nixon and Missouri Commissioner of Education Chris Nicastro for all they have done to help preserve funding for education and to ensure that cuts are fairly distributed among all school districts.
This news is a relief to SPS and many neighboring school districts. It will mean SPS will lose about $850,000 in revenue in 2009-2010 rather than $1.1 million. It is unfortunate that we will have to make any reductions, but thanks to our conservative budgeting practices and efficient and effective use of resources, we anticipate SPS will be able to adapt to the lesser reduction without any drastic cuts between now and June 2010.
The funding outlook for 2010-2011, however, still remains bleak. Due to continuing debate among legislators, we have had to delay our budgeting process and may not know anything certain until after May 7.
The school board will meet May 10 for its budget work session so we should have more information to share by then.
April 12 - Recent news looks at the potential impact of state cuts to education funding
The debate over budget cuts to education continues in Jefferson City, and the outcome of those decision will have an impact on Springfield Public Schools' budget. Two recent articles in the Springfield News-Leader took a closer look at some of the programs that could be directly impacted by the decisions made at the Capitol. On Saturday, the paper focused on the potential impact to the Parents as Teachers program, and summer school was featured on Sunday.
April 8 -- Budget Work Session Scheduled for May 10
The board of education will hold a budget work session on Monday, May 10 from 5-8 p.m. in the Hickory Hills library. Administration will present a proposed budget for the 2010-2011 budget year based on assumptions identified by the board.
Do you have a question about the budget or district revenues? Here are answers to frequently asked questions about those subjects.. Dr. Ridder is also answering your questions on his blog.
April 8 - Education budget issues in the news
The previous budget work session, originally scheduled for April 6, was postponed due to uncertainty about the state funding. On April 7, the Missouri House rejected a spending bill that would have cut funding for some, but not all, of the state's school districts by making reductions to the foundation formula. Springfield is one of the 372 districts that would experience cuts under that proposal. You can read more about the recent decisions could impact Springfield Public School in this April 8 article from the News-Leader, as well as this editorial.
April 1 -- April Budget Work Session Postponed
The state legislature continues to debate funding for public schools. Yesterday
the Senate Appropriations Committee approved several cuts to K-12 school funding, including a $15 million cut to transportation funding, a $13.7 million cut to Parents as Teachers and elimination of $37 million in Career Ladder funding.
Because so many factors regarding state funding are still undecided, the Springfield school board has postponed its budget work session which was originally scheduled for Tuesday, April 6.
March 2, 2010 -- Frequently Asked Questions
We have added a number of commonly asked questions about the district's revenue and the budget planning process for 2010-2011 to our Frequently Asked Questions page, including information about the levy, public input and the next steps toward developing a budget for the 2010-2011 school year.
Feb. 25, 2010 -- 2010-2011 budget development process
Springfield Public Schools is preparing for a difficult budget year in 2010-2011 in the face of national, state and local economic challenges. As the district begins the budget development process, we want our stakeholders to understand each step and decision that will shape the final budget. This brief video provides an overview of the budget process and the district's revenue picture for the current and upcoming school year.
Feb 19, 2010 -- CFO Steve Chodes and board finance committee members Dr. Tom Prater and Jean Twitty discussed the district's revenue projections, the 2010-2011 budget process with representatives from the local media. It was reiterated on the call that the district will not pursue a levy increase this year, but there was some discussion about the levy in light of the financial situation in the years ahead. Dr. Ridder shared some additional thoughts on future levy increases on his blog.
Listen to the complete conference call.
Feb. 17, 2010 -- Revenue projections for the current fiscal year and 2010-2011 were the topic of discussion at the Feb. 16 school board meeting. Read a summary of the information presented or view the complete revenue projections presentation made by Steve Chodes, the district's chief financial officer
Feb. 16, 2010--The school board identified several key assumptions to help develop a preliminary 2010-2011 budget. Those assumptions include:
1. Maintain the fund balance at the current level.
2. Keep total salary and benefits costs at current levels but develop two scenarios for consideration:
A. Identify potential cuts from existing salary and benefits costs amounting to about $2 million in order to fund astep increase or salary adjustment.
B. Maintain current staffing levels with no step increase or salary adjustment.
The board will have further discussion on these assumptions at the March school board meeting. These details provide parameters to guide administration in the creation of a preliminary budget proposal. This preliminary budget will be provided to the board at its regular meeting on March 16, 2010. The board will discuss scheduling a special budget work session at their March meeting
Feb. 16, 2010 -- Revenue projections for the current and upcoming year will be presented at the school board's regular meeting tonight at 5:30 p.m. Keep watching The Bottom Line for updates concerning the district's revenue situation and the budget development process for the 2010-2011 school year.
Nov. 24, 2009 -- SPS received the Meritorious Budget Award from the Association of School Business Officials International for the 2009-10 annual budget. The Meritorious Budget Awards program was designed by ASBO to enable school business administration to achieve excellence in budget presentation and indicates a solid foundation in the skills of developing, analyzing and presenting a budget. This is the sixth consecutive year that SPS has received the award. Only three other districts in Missouri have received the award for this length of time.
Nov. 18, 2009 -- Chief Financial Officer Steve Chodes presented the October financial statement to the Board last night. Mr. Chodes pointed out that less than 2% of the budgeted sales tax revenue, which comprises almost half of the District’s revenue budget for the year, has been received by the District through October which is in line with historical trends. Over 80% of the annual sales tax revenue is received in January.
Nov. 17, 2009-- Springfield Public Schools earned its 17th consecutive unqualified fiscal audit, meaning that the district met all standards of accounting principles accepted in the United States of America. Fewer than 3 percent of Missouri’s 520 public school districts receive an unqualified audit on the accrual basis. The independent auditor’s report and financial statement for the 2008-2009 fiscal year was prepared by Daniel Jones and Associates, Certified Public Accountants, and presented to the school board at its meeting Nov. 17.
Aug. 18, 2009-- School board votes to place $50 million bond issue on Nov. 3 ballot. View a list of proposed projects to be funded by the bond.
July 27, 2009-- Superintendent Norm Ridder describes how stimulus funds will be used to benefit Special Education and Title I programs. Listen to his interview on KSMU's Making Democracy Work program.
View 2008-2009 fiscal highlights.
