Amherst School Board Financial Procedures
On March 4, 2002, the Amherst School Board voted to adopt Superintendent Ananis's recommendations for Financial Procedures. These measures are taken in response to the recently concluded Procedural Review conducted by Melanson, Heath & Co., Inc.
*(REVISED by ASB on May 19, 2003: Item #1 - change date reports will be provided to Board from first to second meeting of the month).
Amherst School Board Recommendations for Financial Procedures
1. Financial reports shall be provided to the Board at the *second meeting of each month. These reports shall contain at a minimum, Account Code, Description, Revised Budget amount, Expended to Date, Encumbered amounts, and amount remaining in each line item. This is to be implemented as soon as possible, but no later than November 1, 2002, with current financial reporting practices to be followed in the interim. The first report should contain the Original Budget amounts.
2. All shared and transfer of costs between school districts shall be adjusted as necessary before financial reports are prepared for the ASB. This is to be implemented no later than October 1, 2002.
3. A separate sheet shall be provided to the ASB quarterly listing special revenues and grants and their proposed allocations. This is to be implemented no later than October 1, 2002.
4. The payroll portion of the monthly reports shall take into account the reallocation of longevity and educational adjustments. This is to be implemented no later than October 1, 2002.
5. For the remainder of the ‘02 fiscal year, 2 members of the ASB will review bi-weekly, after the manifest, the report on expended to date and encumbrances. In addition, certain flagged accounts will be closely monitored and verified against the open P.O. report.
6. The Special Education Department shall continue to maintain spreadsheets that reconcile invoices with actual expenditures, track the costs and projected costs for in-district services and out of district placements, and keep expenditures within the budgeted amounts. A cross-check method will be developed and employed monthly to make sure the spreadsheet totals are consistent with the General Ledger.
7. Beginning with the ’03 Fiscal Year, no line item shall be overspent without board approval. Administrators will be held accountable for staying within line item budgets, and for justifying transfer requests. Failure to comply will result in disciplinary action. Emergency transfers may be brought to the Board Chair for approval, with the whole Board informed of such emergency approvals at the next Board meeting. Non-emergency transfer requests shall be submitted to the Board for approval. All transfer requests shall include from-account number, to-account number, dollar amount to be transferred and a brief but sufficient explanation. A record of all approved transfers shall be maintained.
8. Define and create a written protocol for purchasing to include specific rules for the use of Purchase Orders, (e.g.: what criteria, who has approval authority, when is more than one signature required for approval, how vendors get on/off the preferred vendor list, when competitive bids are required, etc.). This is to be completed no later than October 1, 2002.
9. Any future capital projects shall conform to the following procedures.
A. A committee of volunteer citizens to include at least one Amherst School Board member is to be used to oversee the project.
B. The funds are to be kept in a separate bank account, or a separate account in a capital projects fund, as approved by the board.
C. The final terms of any borrowing shall be approved by a vote of the board in a public meeting.
D. All projects must be accounted for separately and verified by the committee.