Old Adobe might not face penalty

<p>The Old Adobe Union School District apparently will not receive any certification penalty for not submitting a balanced budget for 2011-2012, said a top administrator with the Sonoma County Office of Education.</p><!-- Nothing to do. The paragraph has already been output --><p>“At this point, it’s our intention to approve the Old Adobe budget, without giving a qualified certification,” said Denise Calvert, assistant superintendent of business services. “Under normal circumstances, school districts have to submit balanced budgets and reports for the current fiscal year and the two subsequent fiscal years, but this time, school districts can’t be penalized for 2011-2012 because they don’t have federal stimulus funds for that fiscal year.”</p><p>The exception is being made due to a portion of the recently passed state budget that “prohibits the assignment of a negative or qualified fiscal certification due to a substantial loss of federal stabilization funds in 2011-12 and 2012-13.”</p><p>“The state used this stimulus money to balance the (overall) budget,” said Diane Zimmerman, superintendent of the Old Adobe district. </p><p>On June 29, the Old Adobe board submitted balanced budgets for the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 fiscal years to SCOE, but the 2011-2012 budget was around $300,000 short of being balanced, Zimmerman said.</p><p>“We’re happy to stay within a two-year window at this time,” she said.</p><p> The board issued a statement, published in the July 16 issue of the Argus-Courier, in which it claimed that balancing a budget three years out was unrealistic in the current economic climate.</p><p>Every year, school districts throughout the state receive positive, conditional, qualified or negative certification. </p><p>School districts that, based upon current projections, are able to meet their financial obligations for the next three years are given a positive certification. Those that will be unable to meet their financial obligations for the current fiscal year or two subsequent fiscal years are given qualified certification and those that will be unable to meet financial obligations for the remainder of the current fiscal year or the subsequent fiscal year are given negative certification.</p><p>School Services of California, a leading business, financial, management and advocacy resource for educational agencies in the state recently issued an advisory indicating that school districts are not obligated to balance budgets for the 2011-2012 fiscal year, Zimmerman said.</p><p>“School Services is recommending that county superintendents not be too narrow in their interpretation of the third-year plan, including counting on monies being available for the third-year plan,” said Carl Wong, superintendent of SCOE. “School Services doesn’t have any authority, though: It’s one of several large companies that provides educational consulting services.</p><p>“The third-year budget is open to a lot of subjective analysis.”</p><p>Wong says that school districts are asked to submit balanced three-year budgets to avoid some past problems.</p><p>“Many years ago, some large districts in the state got into financial trouble. So, Assembly Bill 1200 was passed to ensure that school districts have financial plans.</p><p>“It was meant to ensure solvency and to prevent districts from getting into ‘hot water.’”</p><p>Assembly Bill 1200, passed in 1991, specifies how districts must track and report their revenues and expenditures. It requires districts to project their fiscal solvency two years out and to provide the state with school-board-approved financial interim reports twice a year. Under this law, county offices of education are responsible for monitoring and providing some technical assistance to their districts.</p><p>Zimmerman says the Old Adobe district intends to collaborate with SCOE on budget issues, as usual.</p><p>“Denise Calvert said that she would work with us,” Zimmerman said. “We take our financial responsibilities very seriously, and feel good about our two-year budget.”</p><p>“The third year can be a real wilderness, in terms of making budget projections,” Calvert said. “But sooner or later, Old Adobe will be able to project that far out.”</p><p>(Contact Dan Johnson at dan.johnson@arguscourier.com)</p>