District Budgets
Included in this section are the Executive Summaries and the line item budget detail (Budget Development System) that are presented to the School Board in late June each year for their review as the budget public hearings commence. The data presented includes the following fiscal years:
- FY 2007-2008
- FY 2008-2009
- FY 2009-2010
- FY 2010-2011
Over these years the District has made fundamental shifts in the way it builds its budget. Overall, the District has moved to Value-Based Budgeting; a system whereby our budget is tied to our guiding principles and transparency throughout the process is vital. For non-school budgets, location leaders are required to build their budgets from the bottom up, with detailed justifications tied to the strategic plan for all salary and non-salary items. The school budget building process is predicated on principal discretion and school-based decision making. The money follows the child from school to school and principals are responsible for putting dollars in areas that best drive the instructional practices of their schools.
Like many districts across the nation, Miami Dade County Public Schools have experienced serious revenue declines since the fiscal year ending June 30, 2007. The revenue declines were mitigated in part by the Federal Stimulus Funds the District received in FY09-10 and FY10-11 under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and Education Jobs Bill Funding in FY10-11 and FY11-12. In order to remain true to our guiding principles, the School Board has, over the past four years, adopted budgets that reduce Central Administration by over 50%, developed energy efficiency initiatives, redesigned student transportation routes, realigned custodial and clerical allocations, created an administrative overhead pool for schools and reviewed all sections of the school allocation plan. All of the aforementioned reductions were achieved without the termination of one full time teacher for budgetary reasons.
Sample School Budgets
Miami-Dade County Public Schools utilizes a system of allocating resources called CASAS (Computer Assisted Staffing Allocation System). CASAS is built on formulas adopted each year by the School Board in the School Allocation Plan which is included in the budget documents as part of the materials provided in the Indicator 47 folder. During FY 2010-11, the District migrated CASAS from a legacy system to COGNOS software to ensure fidelity to the School Allocation Plan, equity among schools, ease of use among principals, and future viability through key staff turnover. CASAS feeds into a system called School Based Budgeting System (SBBS) – which we also migrated to COGNOS. In CASAS, schools are allocated funding based on the number and type of students that are in their schools, and in SBBS they have full discretion to purchase whatever personnel and non-salary items they need to run their schools. The only limitation schools have in what they buy revolve around meeting the class size constitutional caps, ESE & ESOL requirements, and certain other programs (e.g., Art & Music, Security).
During the last two years the level of autonomy has increased with the goal that allocations are driven by number of students. CASAS and SBBS offer the principals flexibility while ensuring that the School Allocation Plan, which is voted on annually during budget development, is adhered to.
Provided for your review are 24 files containing the school budgets (and accompanying expenditures) representing 6 schools for each of the 4 years being evaluated. The schools provided include two elementary, one middle, one K-8 Center and two high schools. The schools selected align with the schools selected for site visits.
Financial Forecasting
Included in this section are the financial forecasting documents utilized by the District’s Finance Staff to compare budget to actual results. Financial forecasting documents also include reports both to the State Board of Education and the School Board to comply with requirements set forth by the State and/or the Board. The data presented includes the following fiscal years:
- FY 2007-2008
- FY 2008-2009
- FY 2009-2010
- FY 2010-2011
Four types of documents that are used for fiscal forecasting are included. They are described below:
- FLDOE Notifications: School Districts are required to notify the Commissioner of Education when the Districts unreserved fund balance is forecast to fall below 3%. Miami-Dade County Public Schools were required to report to the State in FY 2008-09 and those reports are included. As a result of efficiencies and prudent spending, the District has maintained an unreserved fund balance in excess of 3% since June 30, 2009 and is not required to report to the state.
- Capital Forecasts: The 5 Year Capital Plan is the basis for developing the budget for Capital over a period of years based on expected needs and property tax rolls. The plan is reviewed in detail with the Board and Adopted as part of tentative and final budget adoption in July and September each year.
- School Board Notifications: School Board Rule requires a periodic update comparing actual results to budget. The correspondence to the Board for FY 2009-10 and FY 2010-11 are included.
- General Fund Projections: The Office of Budget Management prepares an in-depth monthly General Fund projection. Revisions to the adopted budget are make several times during the year as a result of material changes (enrollments changes, state holdbacks etc.). These changes are brought to the School Board for review and approval. The December 2010 projection is included as a sample. Projections are available from FY 2007-08 forward for review.
Internal Controls Over Expenditures
Effective internal controls ensure that financial information is reliable, operations are efficient, assets are properly safeguarded, as well as actions and decisions of the District are in compliance with laws and regulations.
On an annual basis the District’s external auditors review the District’s internal control structure over financial reporting as a basis for designing their auditing procedures for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the financial statements. The 2010-11 financial audit did not identify any deficiencies in internal controls over financial reporting.
As a result of the implementation of the new SAP financial system, the District contracted with KPMG, to assess the adequate configuration of system/configurable financial controls related to the recording and reporting of financial data, purchasing and payment processes, as well as budgeting. KPMG issued a report and provided management with recommendations that were implemented where applicable. The District maintains effective Internal Controls over its accounts payable process that are periodically evaluated by district management and include:
Establishment of unique Funds and Programs that segregate resources allocated for the purpose of carrying on specific activities or attain certain objectives in accordance with special regulations, restrictions or limitations.
Budgetary Controls – Availability Control (AVC) feature where users are not able to create requisitions, purchase orders, funds reservations or check requests where budget is insufficient to cover the amount.
Purchases – are initiated electronically using the system’s on-line Shopping Cart that are converted to Purchase Orders, and creating a Funds Reservation for Non-Procurement involved transactions. Shopping Carts are created and routed for electronic approval through appropriate levels of approval in Procurement Management. Funds Reservations are routed for approval based on appropriate levels and dollar thresholds.
Approvals for payment of invoices are based on matching and verification of vendor name and address, invoice number, invoice date, invoice amount, PO Number or Fund Reservation Number and the line items on the invoice to the PO or Fund Reservation.
Accounting records are properly maintained. The District established a system of validation rules that conform to the chart of accounts that meet the requirements and guidelines of the Florida Red Book. With the use of the system validation rules, users are not able to process or input transactions to the General Ledger that do not conform to the chart of accounts.
Included herein as evidence of sound internal controls are the Miami-Dade County Public Schools Comprehensive Audited Financial Statements (CAFR) for the following years:
Cost Savings Measures
A focus for Miami-Dade County Public Schools over the last several years has been reducing the costs of “doing business,” in order to ensure that resources to the classroom can be maximized. This work is in direct support of the District’s singular goal of improving student achievement. These efforts have led to substantial costs savings, increased efficiencies, and a reduction in our District’s impact on the environment. Our efforts involve students and their families, schools and their partners, central administration, the business community, our municipal partners, and the way we do our work.
ROI
Included in this section are the several examples where the Miami Dade County Public Schools analyzed the potential return on investment or used other evaluations of resource allocation/expenditures. The data presented includes samples from the following fiscal years:
- FY 2007-2008
- FY 2008-2009
- FY 2009-2010
- FY 2010-2011
The Government Finance Officers Association recommends that performance measures be aligned to resource distribution. To that end, commencing in FY 2010-11, the District revised its core budget document to include an entire section called organization that aligns the strategic framework, budget and performance hence measuring return on investment. The section from the executive summary is included.
The Office of Treasury Management uses cost benefit analysis to determine the best time to enter into financing and re-financing negotiations with lenders based on work they present to the rating agencies. Two samples of that work (Post Restructure and Miami-Dade County SDI) are included. Further, the Office of Treasury Management presented a ROI analysis to the School Board relating to the Paperless Paycheck initiative which is also included.
Information Technology routinely using ROI analysis to decide whether to move a project forward. The PowerPoint presentation that led to the decision to buy the BIGFIX power Management System is included along with the alignment to the Strategic Framework and a very commendatory article from InfoWorld.
External Support
Public education is a public/private enterprise. It can succeed only with involvement and resources from all sectors of the economy and all segments of society. This is especially so as our school district, community, state, and nation weather the economic downturn. The District has aggressively pursued supplemental funding and partnerships at the federal, state, and local levels to support district initiatives. This is evident in the growth of grant funds to the district over time and the establishment of a direct support organization.
Attached is summary of grant funding for fiscal years 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, and 2010-2011. The District has developed a comprehensive grant development process wherein staff regularly identifies grant funding available to the district and/or community organizations to support services in our schools and actively pursues those resources. The District annually sets goals for supplemental revenue attainment and quarterly analyzes its progress.
Furthermore, the District established a direct support organization, The Foundation for New Education Initiatives, Inc., in November 2008 to provide a vehicle for private philanthropic opportunities. The Foundation for New Education Initiatives, Inc. was created by the School Board of Miami-Dade County, Florida to enhance student achievement and community engagement in support of The Parent Academy and other educational initiatives such as the Cultural Passport. Copies of the Foundation’s audited financials for fiscal years 2008-2009, 2009-2010, and 2010-2011 are provided for your review.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools and host of inspired local government entities are working together forming education compacts to align resources and implement innovative programs to equip our students with the tools they need in school and beyond. Expanding opportunities for students and their families through intergovernmental innovation and cooperation is just one more way Miami-Dade County Public Schools its education compact partners are giving our students the World.
From 2005 to 2012, the District has developed 12 municipal compacts and 1 education compact with Miami-Dade County. After the Education Compacts are captured by both entities, the real work begins to prioritize each of the compact’s identified areas for collaboration. This continuance process which aims at meeting the goals identified in each compact and the exploration of new opportunities for our students is on-going process.
Presently, the District is in the process of developing additional education compacts with which will be captured by the end of this and early next year with several municipalities. Presently the following Education Compacts are under development with: The Town of Cutler Bay, Town of Palmetto Bay, City of Opa-locka, City of Hialeah Gardens and Village of Key Biscayne.
The municipal compacts currently in existence can be viewed at: https://intergovaffairs.dadeschools.net/localeducationcompacts.asp.
Volunteers
Miami-Dade County Public Schools has traditionally enjoyed one of the most extensive networks of community support to be found in any educational district in the nation. Community Support is provided through various programs such as the School Volunteer Program, mentoring initiatives, Dade Partners, parental involvement, and countless advisory committees that provide critical community input on critical issues related to the school district. In this section, a list of the various participants in these programs is provided. Since 1978, the Dade Partners program has been encouraging businesses (large and small), non-profits organizations, and government agencies to take an active role in the education of our students, from pre-kindergarten to adult education. A list of Dade Partners and the cash value and estimated in-kind value of the contributions received in our schools is provided for your information.
The School Volunteer Program matches the resources of community, agency, and business, volunteers with the needs of our schools with the purpose of supporting the District’s goal of student achievement. Volunteers work under the direction of the Principal and/or School Volunteer liaison, and are considered our partners in education. Before beginning services, all volunteers register through the M-DCPS on-line Community or Parent portals www.dadeschools.net. After successful screening volunteers are able to select their school and the role which is based on volunteer interest and needs of the school. More information may be found at https://community.dadeschools.net/!svp/school-vol.asp. In 2009, M-DCPS created and implemented a new on-line volunteer registration system. This web-based application has substantially improved the efficiency, and allows volunteers to manage their own accounts, while providing the most comprehensive (real-time) background search to ensure the safety of students and staff. As of April 2012, over 46,000 volunteers have shared 3.2 million hours of their time and talents enriching the lives of students in our schools. The Florida state average per hour for volunteers is $18.40 which gives a value of $57,960,000 of volunteer services. The district has a plethora of programs:
Certified Volunteer: M-DCPS offers a certification program for interested persons who wish to support community involvement initiatives within the school system by assisting with the management of school volunteers or the School Volunteer Program. A 3-hour course is required as well as successful fingerprint completion.
Listener/ Oyentes: M-DCPS, in conjunction with the Francine and Herb Tobin Foundation, offers this very special program for interested volunteers who wish to be trained as “special friends” for students under the direction of a counselor. A 4-hour training and certification is required as well as successful fingerprinting completion.
Mentor: For the purposes of M-DCPS, a mentor has a very special role. It is distinguished from a purely tutorial role. Mentors are volunteers who are placed one-on-one with students or in small groups. Their role is to provide a support system for the students. Mentors may help with, but are not limited to, career planning, conflict resolution, academic encouragement, buddy systems, self-esteem building or decision-making skills. Mentors may tutor, but tutors may not mentor unless they successfully complete the Level II background check.
Additionally, the Citizen Participation Groups document is provided which outlines the various advisory committees to the district. This document is representative of the citizens groups during the period of 2007-2011, and is update annually.