Child Nutrition Form 154 Changes

TRS has replaced form TRS 154, Monthly Child Nutrition Worksheet, with the attached document.  

They consulted with staff from the Texas Department of Agriculture concerning the calculation of the child nutrition contribution based on data from the current Basic Claim form and the attached document is the result of our collaboration.

The following information may be helpful when completing the new TRS 154 for the first time.

1.  Grand total is the entire amount of the Basic Claim.  It is the Grand Total on the last page of the Basic Claim.

2.  Number of Free Meals Served --  The number of meals served is listed by category on the Basic Claim.

3.  Reimbursement Rate for PAID meals --  Although TDA has various rates you are to use the PAID rate for each type of meal served.  If your district is eligible for a higher reimbursement rate, you may use the higher rate in this calculation.

This document will no longer be in the Forms section of the TRS Website.  A copy of the new document will be placed in the EMPLOYERS section of the TRS Website in the areas listed below under the title "Guidelines for Calculating the Child Nutrition Contribution".

Update on Sales Tax Info for School Districts

Updated Sales Tax information was presented at a recent Superintendent's meeting. At this link is a very good handout that explains when and when not to charge sales tax.

Update on TRS Rate for 2009-2010

Here is the latest memo sent by TRS regarding the new rates beginning in September.

Update on Stat Min

Stat Min for Administrators has now been updated from 10 years state step to 20 years. Make sure you have updated your payroll records to reflect this beginning in September. This should save your district some money!

School FIRST Ratings

TEA published the 2009 School FIRST ratings and they can be found here. Make sure your district is in compliance by adhering to the following requirements:

Within two months after receipt of its final School FIRST rating, each school district must announce and hold a public meeting to distribute a financial management report that explains the district’s rating and its performance under each of the 24 indicators for the current and prior year.

And

The district will be required to report on reimbursements to the superintendent and board of trustees members, for the 2007-2008 school year, and either post on the district’s website or supply in the financial management report the current superintendent’s contract. 

A communication kit is available from TASBO's website .

Legislative Changes

Rita Chase with TEA has a powerpoint available here that, beginning on page 28, outlines the legislative changes that impact the school district business offices. There are a number of changes. Please review these changes to make sure your district is in compliance this year and that your district business procedure manual is updated.

TRS & HB 3646

SECTION 97 states:  For purposes of interpreting and implementing Section 825.406, Government Code, the Teacher Retirement System of Texas may not consider salaries of personnel paid in whole or in part from education stabilization funds distributed to school districts under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Pub. L. No. 111-5) as being paid from federal funds.

Margie Horton with TRS sent this statement regarding TRS and the section stated above:   the only collection that will not be made on this money is the state’s contribution for Federal Fund/Private Grants and Federal TRS-Care.   A member must pay contributions on all TRS eligible salary.  Unless the payment is considered pay for a wholly separate job, it will be subject to the Statutory Minimum Report.

New Indirect Cost Rates

HB 3646 authorizes specifically, the funds, other than an indirect cost allotment established under State Board of Education (SBOE) rule, which are prohibited from exceeding 45, rather than 15, percent, to be used to meet the costs of providing a compensatory, intensive, or accelerated instruction program under Section 29.081.

In other words, the State Comp Ed indirect cost rate changes to 45% in 2009-2010, leaving 55% direct cost rate replacing the 85% direct cost rate currently required.

The other special programs, Bilingual Ed, Career & Technical, Special Ed & GT, indirect cost rates should be determined by the State Board of Education in November.

SFSF Funds

TEA sent correspondence on July 30 regarding the Stabilization (Stimulus) Funds and the application process.  This correspondence can be found here.  TEA has set up free webinars for instructions for the application.  They have several dates available that can be found here near the bottom of the page under the heading “SFSF-Application Technical Assistance Webinars”.  TEA will have the SFSF Grant Application available in eGrants on Monday, August 3.

TEA Presentation at PEIMS Coordinator Training

Janice Hollingsworth of TEA recently presented the information found at this link at a PEIMS Coordinator Training.  Please note on Page 6 that Fund 266 should be used for the HB3646 pay increase stimulus funds.  Also note the change for High School Allotment coding for 2009-2010 from Fund 428 to Fund 199 with PIC code 31.  You will need to add these code changes in your 2008-2009 books also for August payroll accruals.

Health Savings Accounts (HSA)

There is new information available on the HSA that districts need to know. The web site for this information is:  www.ustreas.gov and click on 'Health Savings Accounts' on the left side under 'Direct Links". 

Lone Star Reports by TEA

TEA has provided some useful historical financial data and graphs for our districts. Go to http://www.lonestarreports.com to see what information is available on your district!

Stimulus Information

TEA has posted information regarding the use and amount of stimulus funds for school districts, as well as the process for applying for the money. This information can be found http://www.tea.state.tx.us/arrastimulus/.

Please note the new fund codes that have been posted to be used for the stimulus monies.

Information for your DUNS #, CAGE Code, etc. may be found at this link. Please note the May 1 deadline for submitting your data collection to TEA.

Note: ESC 12 is offering assistance with the stimulus package application, etc. Please contact Barbara Agee for more information at 254-297-1238.

New Correspondence as of 4/24/09 can be found here - NCLB and here - IDEA.

Optional Flexible School Year

This is a reminder if your school is participating in the Optional Flexible School Year, as you probably know, there are different ways the campus calendars may be defined to accommodate this program. For example, one district may choose to offer five extra days of instruction at the end of the first and second semester, while another district may choose to offer 10 extra days of instruction at the end of the year only. In any case, the district will be required to establish multiple campus tracks to accommodate the different calendars. While absences carry a greater weight for students on the shorter calendar, the funding awarded for each ADA is the same. If this is not handled correctly, your state funding may be jeopardized.

IMPORTANT:  Districts offering this type of program need to be aware of how these students are to be tracked in their student software system. No matter where the extra days fall within the calendar, a student who needs to be placed on a different track must be moved/withdrawn from one track and re-entered on another track, using the same date for the withdrawal/re-entry. The status changes needs to be done ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE CYCLE OF WHICH THE STUDENT WILL BE ON THE DIFFERENT CALENDAR.  If you do not make the status change on the first day of the cycle, but use some day after the first day of that cycle, the district’s ADA will be inflated as these students will be generating more than one ADA.
EXAMPLE:  (David Loseke, TEA, recommended that the student be changed (status change) to the new track for the Optional Flexible School Year the first day of the cycle that will have fewer membership days.) For example, if the district decides to let the students that qualify for the Optional Flexible School Year out of school the last 10 days, then their last day would be May 18th and the traditional school year ends on May 29th. The 6th six-week cycle begins on April 20th so the students that are attending school 170 days(track 2) would have a status change on April 20th moving them to the track 2.

A student can only generate 1 ADA for the year. The school year is divided into 6 six-week cycles, so these students would have 5 cycles and 1 cycle with a different number of days, which will still generate only 1 ADA for the year.

Make Work Pay Credit

The “Make Work Pay” credit will start showing up in your paychecks by April, 2009. For most taxpayers, this means that your take home pay should be slightly larger. A new W-4 is NOT required for this credit to take effect, but you may want to read the links below to decide whether or not you want to change your withholdings. 

Please refer to the links below for more information on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/making-work-pay-credit-could/story.aspx?guid=%7BAE919687-05BB-406A-8196-5E2785493E11%7D&dist=msr_3

http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=204521,00.htmlhttp://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/making-work-pay-credit-could/story.aspx?guid=%7BAE919687-05BB-406A-8196-5E2785493E11%7D&dist=msr_3

http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=204521,00.html

Link to the Form W-4:
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4.pdf 

2009 Stimulus Tax Table Now Available

The new tax tables are availabe for loading into RSCCC here and the IRS Notice 1036 is also included in that folder. New tax tables have been developed due to changes to the tax law made in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.  The IRS asks that employers begin using these tables in lieu of the applicable previously published tables as soon as possible, but no later than April 1, 2009. 

TRS Benefit Changes for 2009-2010

Travel Rule Changes

The State Comptroller office has made a few changes to the current travel rules.  Please take notes of the following changes and take into consideration for your next business trip.  The Comptroller has a new website for travel rules and regulations - tExtravel found at https://fmx.cpa.state.tx.us/fmx/travel/textravel/index.php . Please take note that the maximum state mileage reimbursement rate for travel has been decreased to 55 cents per mile effective Jan. 1, 2009. The new rate, a decrease of 3.5 cents per mile, is consistent with the rate recently amended by the Internal Revenue Service. Please review your local board policy to make sure it covers this change. Also note that any amount paid to an employee over and above this amount is considered taxable income to the employee and must be included on their W-2.

IRS Rules Change for 403(b)

The clock is ticking toward the end of the year and the beginning of a new oversight role for school districts with 403(b) plans. Districts must comply with new IRS rules that go into effect on Jan. 1, 2009. Under previous rules, districts had little accountability for 403(b) plans and generally relied on annuity vendors to enforce the rules. Next year, the responsibility for compliance with IRS rules will fall squarely on school districts. Here are some highlights of what school officials should know about their new duties.

A 403(b) plan can be elected by an employee or set up by the district. These two arrangements are called elective and nonelective plans. Every district is required to enter into a salary reduction agreement if requested by an employee to make contributions to a qualified investment account. This type of arrangement is the employee’s choice; the district’s responsibility is limited to having a written plan document that addresses the “material terms and conditions” of the plan.

A nonelective plan is one established by the district as a supplemental retirement account for employees. The district may contribute to employee accounts. It is the nonelective plan that will trigger the most significant increase in the district’s responsibility for oversight and compliance. Districts are not required to sponsor a nonelective 403(b) plan but it is a popular benefit to help employees save for their retirement.

Employers will have both compliance and fiduciary responsibilities for their established 403(b) plans. In terms of compliance, the district is responsible for enforcing the rules for the plan such as eligibility and enrollment requirements, contribution limits, transfers, loans, distributions, and rollovers. Compliance duties are often handled by a third-party administrator (TPA) with special expertise in the administration of these plans. Fiduciary duty is the responsibility to prudently exercise discretionary authority relating to the plan, particularly in the selection of vendors for a nonelective plan. For elective plans, TRS handles screening and certification of qualified vendors and districts need only make sure that a sponsored vendor is on the approved list.

TASB Legal Services has developed a nontechnical document  to answer administrator questions on 403(b) Retirement Savings Plans. It explains what school district officials should know. The Association of School Business Officials (ASBO)  and the American Association of School Administrators (AASA)  have developed detailed guides and models to help business officials understand and comply with their new responsibilities for 403(b) plans.

Use of IDEA Part B Funds for EIS

In combination with other funds, school districts and charter schools may use up to 15% of the entitlement received under IDEA Part B (i.e., fund/net asset code 224) to provide early intervening services (EIS).  As discussed in Section 613(f) of P.L. 108-446 and 34 CFR 300.226, a school district or charter school may implement coordinated EIS that includes the following activities.
·       Professional development (which may be provided by entities other than school district or charter school) for teachers and other school staff to enable such personnel to deliver scientifically based academic and behavioral interventions, including scientifically based literacy instruction, and, where appropriate, instruction on the use of adaptive and instructional software; and
·       Providing educational and behavioral evaluations, services, and supports, including scientifically based literacy instruction.
Accounting Records
Consistent with federal law and rules, federal funds always retain their identity. School districts and charter schools are required to properly account for the receipt and expenditure of federal funds, and to ensure that federal funds are used for allowable costs in accordance with federal fiscal requirements.  To demonstrate compliance with this requirement, school districts and charter schools should use a local option code within the applicable fund code (i.e., 224) that uniquely identifies the cost objective used to account for the expenditure of federal, state, and local funds on coordinated, EIS.  School districts and charter schools should also maintain other documentation (i.e., policies, procedures, identification criteria, needs assessment, improvement plan, budget, purchase orders, invoices, payroll authorization forms, etc.) that adequately describes the EIS program implemented and uniquely accounts for the use of IDEA Part B funds for EIS.
For further discussion of this requirement, please refer to the TEA website on EIS at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/special.ed/eis/.  Program related questions regarding EIS should be directed to Phyllis Gandy or Denise Dusek in the TEA Division of IDEA Coordination.  Fiscal related questions regarding EIS should be directed to Ramon Medina in the TEA Division of Financial Audits.

Child Nutrition Update

In our last RSCCC Business Users Forum, Stefanie Abassi and Anita Fincher, Child Nutrition, stated that if a school district discounts their food service meals to their district employees, the district is required to reimburse Food Service for the difference between the amount calculated per the formula found in section 15-3 of the Child Nutrition ARM http://www.squaremeals.org/vgn/tda/files/2348/23636_15-Meal%20Pricing.pdf (see below) and the amount charged to the employee.  This does not include food service employees which may eat free and do not require reimbursement to Food Service.  This generated a question from some of our districts as to how to code this reimbursement.  We consulted Rita Chase at TEA and she says to expense to the function that the employee’s payroll is charged and use object code 6149 (other employee benefits).  Then the question arose whether this needs to be included on an employees’ W-2 as taxable income?  We have researched and found that it would not be taxable if you furnish the meals to them on your business premises.  Please see page 14 of IRS Publication 15-b for more details http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p15b.pdf  .

RSCCC Requisition

Did you know that you can have one secretary that inputs Requisitions for two different principals/department heads? This is how you would set them up so that only the Requisitions for that particular approver will be sent to the appropriate principal. Set up each principal/department in the Requisition User Profile with their accounts under the tab labeled “Special Review”. Then set them up on the Secretaries user profile on the Approval Path tab with “Special Review” checked. These instructions with screen shots can be found under the Documentation link in the Requisitions folder.

Additional Fingerprinting Information

Andrew Allen, Assistant Counsel for TEA, provided the following information to us from a recent fingerprinting presentation. Please call Andrew at 512-936-8238 with any questions.

TASBO published the following article on their website for clarification of the IRS rules for 12 month compensation as of 7/3/08.

12 Month Compensation Clarified
Interim guidance from the IRS

IRS rules under discussion had proposed that the summer checks that teachers receive might be treated as deferred compensation. This would have greatly complicated school payrolls. Bottom line: Schools won't have to do that. The IRS has posted an Interim Guidance document indicating that, in most cases, teachers' earnings paid over a twelve month period do not involve deferred compensation.
The introductory portion of the document reads:

Interim Guidance on the Application of 457(f) to Certain Recurring Part-Year Compensation Notice 2008-62
This notice describes a rule that the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) anticipate will be included in regulations to be proposed under 457(f) of the Internal Revenue Code.
The regulations to be proposed are expected to address certain types of arrangements involving recurring part-year compensation, including common arrangements involving public schools employees who provide services during a 10 month school year and elect to be paid ratably over 12 months. It is expected that the regulations would provide that if certain conditions described below are satisfied, 457(f) would not apply to such arrangements. It is also expected that a conforming change will be proposed for regulations under 409A, so that 409A also will not apply to such arrangements if such conditions are met.
Section II of this notice describes the rule expected to be included in the proposal regulations. Taxpayers may immediately rely on the rule described in Section II of this notice.
Be sure to read the whole thing as there are some time frame and total compensation limits. It is also possible that some of this could still change, so watch for the final rules to be adopted.

TEA Expenditure Targets

ESC 12 has provided a "user friendly" template for calculating TEA's Expenditure Target . This template is designed to facilitate district compliance with proposed expenditure targets established annually by TEA pursuant to TEC § 44.011 (Link to Expenditure Targets Template)

Required Budget Summary for WEB Posting

Woody Brewton, here at ESC 12, has developed a template to assist districts in meeting the posting requirements of HB 1, which relates to posting the district's current year and proposed expenditure budgets on the district's Web Page. HB1 requires a school district to post the budget summary on the school's Internet Web site when it post the "Notice of Public Hearing" on the budget in the newspaper.