2007-08 Adopted Plan - Wake County Public School System

Budgetary AssumptionsState SourcesIn order to project state sources of revenue, we applied the state planningallotment formulas to our projected student membership fi gures. Thelegislative liaison for the school district consulted with legislative fi scalstaff and staff at the NC Department of Public Instruction to gatherinformation about projected salary increases and employer matchingbenefi t rates. Actual state funding levels are not available until thelegislature concludes its session. This can be as late as the fall.State allotments are funded on a formula basis. The State funds schoolswith three basic types of allotments.Position Allotments:The State allots positions to a local school system for a specifi cpurpose. The local school system pays whatever is required to hirecertifi ed teachers and other educators, based on the State SalarySchedule, without being limited to a specifi c dollar amount. Each localschool system will have a different average salary based on the certifi edpersonnel’s experience and education. Examples of position allotmentsare teachers, school building administration and instructional supportpersonnel.Dollar Allotments:Local school systems can hire employees or purchase goods for aspecifi c purpose, but the local school system must operate within theallotted dollar amount. Examples of dollar allotments are teacherassistants, textbooks, central offi ce administration and classroommaterials/supplies/equipment.Categorical Allotments:Local school systems may use this funding to purchase all servicesnecessary to address the needs of a specifi c population or service.The local school system must operate within the allotted funds. Thesefunds may be used to hire personnel such as teachers, teacherassistants, and instructional support personnel or to provide a servicesuch as transportation, staff development, or to purchase supplies andmaterials.Examples of categorical funding are: at risk student services, childrenwith disabilities, noninstructional support personnel, and transportation.Local SourcesFines and forfeitures were projected based on historical experience.Fines and forfeiture collections have been $3.0 million in FY 03,$4.0 million in FY 04, $3.9 million in FY 05, and $6.6 million in FY 06.Interest earned was projected based on the current interest rate andan estimated amount of funds available for investment using historicalexperience. We invest local dollars in the State Treasurer’s InvestmentFund (STIF) account, North Carolina Capital Management Trust(NCCMT) and Wachovia Jumbo Money Market account. In fi scal year2006 we earned an average of 4.03 percent. Indirect cost is projectedbased on the indirect cost rate applied to our estimated level of grantand enterprise funding. Parking fee projections are projected based onthe annual fee times the number of available parking spaces. Otherrevenues are included at known levels based on agreements in place.Fund balance appropriation levels are arrived upon based on a greatdeal of analysis regarding the level of unappropriated fund balancenecessary to maintain a sound fi nancial condition for the school system.Appropriated fund balance is considered a nonrecurring revenue sourcesince the availability of fund balance cannot be guaranteed from year toyear. Analysis of fund balance levels occurs throughout the year.Federal GrantsFederal grants are projected using historical information, state planningallotments, formulas, and consultation with the grants area with WakeCounty Public School System. Actual levels of grant funding are typicallynot awarded until the fall.Enterprise FundsEnterprise revenues are projected by applying tuition fees and mealfees to projected student participation. These budgets can be adjustedlater in the year if participation rates come in signifi cantly different.Enterprise programs must generate enough revenue to cover the costsof the program.EnrollmentStudent membership projections for Wake County used to preparethe Plan for Student Success total 136,086 students (excluding 4,694students projected to be enrolled in charter schools). The net increasein students for 2006-07 from 2005-06 tenth day is projected to be 7,185students or six percent.339 FY 2007-08 Plan for Student Success