The district shall maintain a system of funds with the county treasurer in accordance with state law and the accounting manual approved by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Below is a description of the district’s system of funds.

General Fund
The General Fund (GF) is financed primarily from state support funds, local taxes, federal grants, and local receipts. These revenues are used specifically for financing the ordinary and legally authorized operations of the district for all grades. The GF includes money that has been segregated for the purpose of carrying on specific activities including, but not limited to, the basic and special education programs. The GF is managed in accordance with special regulations, restrictions, and limitations. The GF constitutes an independent fiscal and accounting entity.

As a part of its GF, the district has a local revenue subfund to account for the district’s operations that are paid for with local revenues.

The following local revenues will be deposited in the district’s local revenue subfund:

• Enrichment levies and transportation levies collected under RCW 82.52.053;
• Local assistance funding received under chapter RCW 28A.500 RCW; and
• Other local revenues such as, but not limited to, grants, donations, and state and federal payment in lieu of taxes, or local revenues that operate as an offset to the district’s basic education allocation under RCW 28A.150.250.

The district will track expenditures from the subfund to account for the expenditures based on each of the streams of revenue described above.

Capital Projects Fund
The Capital Projects Fund (CPF) contains:

• Proceeds from the sale of voted bonds (unlimited tax general obligation bonds) and non-voted bonds (limited general obligation bonds);
• State of Washington financing assistance (state matching money);
• Transfers from the district’s basic education allotment;
• The proceeds of special levies earmarked for building purposes;
• Earnings from capital projects fund investments, growth management impact fees, state environmental protection act mitigation payments; and
• Rental or lease proceeds and proceeds from the sale of property.

The district may use proceeds from the sale of voted bonds, including the interest earnings thereof, for capital purposes including, but not limited to, the following purposes:

• Funding outstanding indebtedness or bonds already issued;
• Purchasing sites for buildings, playgrounds, physical education, and athletic facilities;
• Erecting buildings and furnishing those buildings with the necessary furniture, apparatuses, and equipment;
• Improving the energy efficiency of the district’s buildings or installing systems and components to utilize renewable and inexhaustible energy resources; and
• Making major or minor structural changes and structural additions to buildings, structures, facilities, and sites.

All other money deposited into the CPF may be used for the following purposes:

• Making major renovations to and replacing facilities and systems where periodical repairs are no longer economical or to extend the useful life of the facility or system beyond its original planned useful life, including but not limited to replacing or refurbishing roofs, exterior walls, windows, heating and ventilating systems, floor covering in classrooms and public common areas, and electrical and plumbing systems;
• Renovating and rehabilitating playfields, athletic fields, and other district real property;
• Conducting preliminary energy audits and energy audits of district buildings and making energy capital improvements that are identified as being cost-effective in the audits;
• Purchasing or installing additional major items of equipment and furniture;
• Paying the costs associated with implementing technology systems, facilities, and projects—including acquiring hardware licenses, licensing software, and online applications—and paying the costs associated with training related to the installation of such systems, facilities, and projects;
• Paying the costs associated with the application and modernization of technology systems for operations and instruction—including, but not limited to, the ongoing fees for online applications, subscriptions, or software licenses, including upgrades and incidental services—and paying for ongoing training related to the installation and integration of such products and services (to the extent funds are used for this purpose, the district will transfer the portion of the capital project funds used to the district’s GF); and
• Repairing major equipment, painting facilities, and performing other preventative maintenance (to the extent funds are used for this purpose, the district will transfer the portion of the capital project funds used to the district’s GF).

After holding a public hearing, the board may determine by resolution to use any money from the sale of voted bonds and investment earnings thereon remaining after the authorized capital improvements have been completed to acquire, construct, install, equip and make other capital improvements to the district’s facilities or to retire or defease a portion of voted bonds.

Investment earnings derived from other sources in the CPF should be retained in the CPF and used for statutorily authorized purposes. The district may transfer investment earnings in the CPF that have not been derived from voted bond proceeds to a different fund if the earnings are used only for instructional supplies, equipment, or capital outlay purposes. The superintendent should consult the board and appropriate district staff prior to altering the use of voted bond proceeds and transferring investment earnings out of the CPF.

Debt Service Fund
The money in the Debt Service Fund (DSF) is used to pay for the principal of and interest on outstanding voted and non-voted bonds. Disbursements are made by the county treasurer by means of treasurer’s checks. Provision will be made annually for the making of a levy sufficient to meet the annual payments of principal and semiannual payments of interest. The district may transfer surplus investment earnings from the DSF to any other school district fund as long as such earnings are spent only for instructional supplies, equipment, or capital outlay purposes. The district may transfer such investment earnings to other school district funds unless the resolution authorizing the voted bonds requires investment earnings to remain in the DSF to secure payment of voted bonds, thereby reducing future tax collections and the corresponding tax levy rate. The superintendent should consult with the board and appropriate staff prior to transferring interest earnings out of the DSF.

Non-voted bonds are required to be repaid from the school district’s DSF, rather than the fund that actually received the non-voted bond proceeds. As a result, to pay the principal of and interest on the non-voted bond, an operating transfer must be used from the CPF (or other fund) to the DSF. The school district should create a separate account within the DSF to repay the non-voted bond. The district should internally segregate the money pledged to repay the non-voted bond from any excess property taxes deposited in the DSF for the repayment of voted bonds.

Prior to the issuance of a non-voted bond, the superintendent or a designee will review the repayment process with the board and the county treasurer. The proceeds from the sale of real property may be placed in the DSF or CPF, except for the amount required to be expended for the costs associated with the sale of such property.

Associated Student Body Program Fund
The board is responsible for the protection and control of student body financial resources just as it is for other public funds placed in its custody. The financial resources of the Associated Student Body Program Fund (ASB Fund)  are for the benefit of students. Student involvement in the decision-making processes related to the use of this money is an integral part of the associated student body, except that the board may delegate the authority to a staff member to act as the associated student body for any school that does not contain a grade higher than grade six.

The primary source of revenue for this fund will be monies raised by students through recognized student organizations. The fund will be managed in accordance with special regulations, restrictions and limitations and constitutes an independent fiscal and accounting entity.

Annually each ASB shall prepare a budget and send it to the business services department.  Business services will bring all ASB budgets to the School Board for approval. The budget will list those activities which constitute the ASB program. Within the approved ASB budget, each recognized ASB is granted the right to engage in fund raising activities and be allowed to make disbursements equal to or less than the amount of funds it has on deposit. In no case will a particular school’s ASB expend funds in excess of the amount of funds it has on deposit.

Associated student body fund groups may conduct fund raising activities for private purposes to use for   charitable purposes. This money shall be deposited in one or more separate accounts within the associated student body fund and be disbursed for such purposes as the student body group conducting the fund raising activity shall determine.

Transportation Vehicle Fund
The transportation vehicle fund (TVF) includes:

• The proceeds from the sale of transportation vehicles;
• Lease, rental, or occasional use of surplus buses;
• Depreciation reimbursement for district-owned buses;
• Proceeds of TVF levies;
• Optional transfers from the GF; and
• Investment funds coming from the TVF.

The TVF may be used to purchase school buses or to pay for major repairs to school buses. Money may be transferred from the TVF to the DSF exclusively for the payment of debt and interest associated with purchase agreements for school buses, including lease purchase agreements.

Skill Center Minor Repair and Maintenance Capital Account

A host district of a cooperative skill center must maintain a separate minor repair and maintenance capital account for facilities constructed or renovated with state funding. Participating districts must make annual deposits into the account to pay for future minor repair and maintenance costs of those facilities. The host district has authority to collect those deposits by charging participating districts an annual per-pupil facility fee.

The board shall authorize a system of bank accounts by board resolution to meet the needs of the district.

The superintendent is directed to establish procedures for managing the collection and the expenditure of district money.

Legal Reference:
Allowable use of the transportation vehicle fund - WAC 392-142-260
Deposit of payments in the transportation vehicle fund - WAC 392-142-255
Minor repair and maintenance capital accounts - RCW 28A.245.100
Transportation vehicle fund—Deposits - RCW 28A.160.130
Investment of funds of district—Service fee - RCW 28A.320.320
School funds enumerated — Deposits - RCW 28A.320.330
Fees for optional noncredit extracurricular events - RCW 28A.325.010
Associated student bodies — Powers and responsibilities - RCW 28A.325.020
Associated student body program fund — Fundraising activities - RCW 28A.325.030
Surplus school property - RCW 28A.335.060
Rules for budgetary procedures - RCW 28A.505.140
Directors may borrow money, issue bonds - RCW 28A.530.010
Bond issuance — Election - RCW 28A.530.020
Additional authority to contract indebtedness - RCW 28A.530.080
Use of public office or agency facilities in campaigns - RCW 42.17A.555
Local Government Accounting — Uniform system of accounting - RCW 43.09.200
Local Government Accounting - RCW 43.09.210
Levies by school districts authorized - RCW 84.52.053
Excess levies for capital purposes authorized - RCW 84.52.056

Highline School District 401
Adopted by the Board: August 1986
Revised by the Board: 2.20 (Formerly Policy 7410 and 7415)