LJSD Financial Facts
Issue 1 - January 2025
The District is required to use governmental accounting, which is a fund-based accounting system. The technical definition states that it is an accounting system used to track the amount of money allocated to various operations within the district. We operate on a fiscal year that runs from July 1st to June 30th each year.
Fund accounting can be correlated to opening several savings accounts for different budgeting purposes. If you wanted to buy a new car for cash, you would deposit money into that specific account and only withdraw it when you are ready to buy a new car. The District has roughly 25 different funds, each with a specific purpose. The majority of our activity is in our “General Fund”.
The district budget relies on revenue from state and federal funding and property tax levies approved by local taxpayers.
State Funding Overview
Each year, Lakeland Joint School District receives funds to help with its operating budget. These funds are distributed based on a formula that considers factors like staffing and student enrollment and attendance. Some state funds are earmarked for specific uses, such as literacy programs from Kindergarten through 3rd grade or classroom technology, and they can only be used for those purposes. This funding formula does not account for small class sizes, cost of living, or unique student needs.
Federal Funding Overview
Federal funding also supports Idaho school districts, but it is allocated for specific programs. These federal funds have strict guidelines and cannot be used for other operational needs.
Property Tax Funds
In Idaho, property tax levies are a source of funding for schools. Local voters can approve these levies every two years. On May 16, 2023, local voters approved a supplemental levy of $9,520,000 to replace the previous one. This supplemental levy will last until June 30, 2025. These funds are crucial for the district's budget, as they support essential programs and materials not covered by state or federal funding.
Items that the Lakeland Joint School District supplemental levy funds include:
Safety and Security measures, like School Resource Police Officers and door access systems.
Athletics and student activities.
Transportation costs that exceed the average 60% reimbursement from the state.
Competitive salaries for teachers, paraprofessionals, bus drivers, custodians, and other district support staff.
In 2023, Idaho created the “School District Facilities Fund” as outlined in Idaho Code 33-911. This fund helps school districts with construction and renovation costs for school facilities. Funding is based on the best 28 weeks of student attendance from the previous year. Although intended for facility improvements, it is first and foremost a property tax relief bill.
School districts with voter-approved bonds or levies must use this funding to lower those amounts first. Districts must report their facility funding to the county to avoid double-dipping on levied amounts.
For the 2024-2025 school year, Lakeland received approximately $2.37 million in facility funds. This will offset the $9.52 million supplemental levy, meaning the county will only need to levy about $7.14 million, with the facility funding covering the difference. Since 2023, Lakeland Joint School District taxpayers have received over $4.12 million in property tax relief due to this funding.
The facility funding varies each year, so Idaho Code 34-914 prevents us from including anticipated property tax relief in the levy ballot language.
Idaho Code 33-357 dictates that all school districts in the State of Idaho maintain a Financial Transparency page to provide public access to important documents related to the operation of the District. On our page, you can access:
Annual Budget Documents
Annual Independent Financial Audits
Monthly Districtwide Financial Reports
Monthly Expenditure Reports
Contracts, and
Purchasing & Requests for Proposals/Bids
We would love the opportunity to answer any questions you may have about the District Finances. Please use this link to submit your questions for future newsletters.
To get us started, we would like to address a few common questions we see from the community:
What happened to the approved activity buses/vans?
- The Lakeland Joint School District Board of Trustees authorized the purchase of activity buses using funds from the “Board Approved Projects” fund. The district contracted with a company for this purchase; however, the vendor was unable to fulfill the order and subsequently canceled it. The district did not pay the vendor, as we only process payments upon receiving items. The funding for the buses remains available in the Board Approved Projects fund, as outlined in our monthly financial reports and supporting documents.
- The district purchased a new mail/courier van to facilitate mail routing throughout the district, connecting our 11 schools and 5 departments. Not everything can be handled via email, so buildings often transfer curriculum materials and other supplies among themselves via the courier. Having a dedicated courier van allows us to transport these items quickly without relying on the Post Office and paying for postage. Additionally, the courier van is used to deliver heavy items, such as ice melt, from the facilities department to schools. This approach saves the district money on freight charges, helps us manage inventory more effectively, and ensures that materials are readily available for our schools. The District Courier is a 4-hour part-time position.
- Idaho Code 33-701 requires a “full and complete audit of financial statements”. The district contracts an independent third-party auditor to conduct this review. The independent auditor issues their audit opinion and we are required to provide a copy of the report to the state no later than November 10th of each year to receive a large portion of our state funding. The district has had a long history of maintaining a clean audit opinion with no findings for the financial statements.
