School Funding Links and Resources
- House Research Department Minnesota School Finance, A guide For Legislators October 2007 "a reference tool for the Minnesota school
finance system, the method by which funds are provided to operate
public elementary and secondary schools..The Minnesota school finance
system is the method by which funds are provided to operate public
elementary and secondary schools. The bulk of state support for
elementary and secondary education is distributed to school districts through the general education revenue
program, which provides money for the current operating expenditures of
the districts. The remaining portion of the state’s appropriation
to local districts is provided through special purpose or categorical
aids, such as special education aid and local property tax relief aids. The purpose of this guide is to
describe the various state programs that provide financial aid to
Minnesota school districts. It includes finance data as well as some
historical background. Historical, legal, and descriptive information
in the following pages provide the context for understanding the school finance system. (Updated annually, in
PDF format. Dense, detailed discussion of Minnesota School
Finance). See also Financing Education in Minnesota, 2007-2009
- Excerpts From Minnesota School Finance on General Education Revenues
- Information on District 742 Special Education Budget
- National Access Network The mission of the National Access Network is to promote
meaningful educational opportunities for all children,
especially those low-income and minority children currently
being denied this opportunity. Access seeks to bring
about this change by forming a national network of education
litigators, policy-makers, and advocates, in order to
strengthen the links between school finance litigation,
public engagement, and education policy.
- Finance Redesign Project The School Finance Redesign Project (SFRP) encompasses research, policy
analysis, and public engagement activities that examine how K-12
finance can be redesigned to better support student performance. Funded
by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, SFRP addresses the
question, "How can resources help schools achieve the higher levels of
student performance that state and national education standards now
demand?"
- Parents United for Public Schools Advocacy group seeking to reform finance of public education in Minnesota
- Fund the Child Thomas Fordham Institute's proposal for funding reform
- Determining the Cost of an Adequate Education by the Minnesota Taxpayer's League
- Little Book of Big Important Stuff Parents United Primer on School Funding
- Minnesota Miracle Abandoned, Changes in Minnesota School Financing 2001-2007 PDF version of article in Rural Minnesota Journal
- Fiscal Year Budget Survey, 2009
Describes funding shortfalls for school districts in the Metropolitan
area, with funding shortfalls defined as requiring cuts in programs.
Prepared by the Association of Metropolitan School Districts.
See also, Funding Statistics Links
- PS Minnesota School Funding Advocacy Group P.S. Minnesota is non-partisan coalition of Minnesota education and
parent groups united to advocate for adequate and sustainable public
education funding.
- District 742 2008-2009 Budget
Full budget is on line. Extensive year to year comparisons.
However, one must be super careful in making year to year
comparisions, because of special circumstances in some line items.
Examples are the school funds borrowed in one year, but received
in the next. School budgeting is done on a modified accrual
basis, which requires special effort to understand the entries.
- District 742 Audit Report for fiscal year ending June 20, 2007
Each audit covers our fiscal year, which runs from July 1 to June 30.
The audit work for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008 is
currently in process.
- District 742 Monthly Check Registers Several
years ago, the district began to post our check register information
on-line. I believe we are one of a few districts that do so.
The check register does not cover monthly payroll checks.
They are sometimes called out-of-line bills, because they are
payments paid on presentation of specific transactions for
payment.
- .School Finance Adequacy at the Crossroads Education Week Article
- Paying for School Finance Adequacy Odden and Goetz, 2007
- Fund the Child, Tackling Equity and Inequity in School Finance, Thomas Fordham Institute, June 2006