NJ-SP Officials Discuss Necessary Budget Changes Due to State Policy Passed in 2017

Posted on June 23, 2018
Author Jacque Ryan, WKVI

When North Judson-San Pierre school board members met on Tuesday, they discussed an upcoming change that will impact how the school corporation keeps track of finances.

Superintendent Dr. Annette Zupin reminded the board members about a House Enrolled Act (HEA 1009) passed in 2017 that will go into effect on January 1, 2019. This will impact all schools, not just NJ-SP. According to Zupin HEA 1009 will eliminate a few different accounts including the capital projects, transportation, bus replacement and general funds. Those will all be replaced with two new funds; the Education fund and the Operations fund.

She explained that the Education fund will be utilized for distributions of tuition support and it will only be used for expenses allocated to student instruction and learning.

On the other hand, the Operations fund will be used to pay for non-academic expenses. Funds and levies will be consolidated here, including the transportation, bus replacement and capital projects funds. Zupin noted that plans will still need to be submitted for Capital Projects and Bus Replacement.

Though the new rules won’t go into effect for months, the budget process for next school year is currently ongoing so the changes it will cause are incredibly relevant to the schools’ financial advisors.

Dr. Zupin said that Business Manager and Treasurer Guy Richie and the corporation’s other business managers have been working diligently to assess past finances and prepare the budget for next year, with this shift in mind.

Moving forward, Zupin said it will be important for officials to monitor, analyze and interpret how the Education and Operations Funds interact. She added that they’ll also need to continue observing enrollment to ensure a proper student-to-teacher ratio.

Zupin stated that a work session will be held in August to allow for more discussion over this topic. For more information, click the following link to download the Indiana Department of Education press release about HEA 1009.