Unit 1: Introduction to School Finance

Chapter 1. The Basics

• 1.1 What is a local education agency?
• 1.2 What is average daily membership?
• 1.3 What is the school district budget cycle?
• 1.4 What are the mechanics in developing a school district budget?
• 1.5 What are school district General Fund Budgets and Annual Financial Reports?



Chapter 2. Revenue Basics

• 2.1 How are school districts financed?
• 2.2 What is federal funding?
• 2.3 What is state and local funding?
• 2.4 What are state revenues to school districts?
• 2.5 What are local revenues?



Chapter 3. Expenditure Basics

• 3.1 What are the types of school district expenditures?
• 3.2 What costs drive school district spending?
• 3.3 How have mandated costs impacted school district expenditures?
• 3.4 How do mandated costs impact school district local revenues?
• 3.5 What are the results of the PASBO School District Budget Report?
• 3.6 What is the fiscal forecast for the 500 School Districts in Pennsylvania?

Unit 2: Local Revenues

Chapter 4. Property Taxes and Assessed Value

• 4.1 What are property taxes?
• 4.2 What impact have mandated costs had on property taxes?
• 4.3 What is assessed value and market value?
• 4.4 What is assessed value by type of land use?
• 4.5 How has assessed value changed over time?
• 4.6 What are homesteads and median assessed value?



Chapter 5. State Property Tax Relief

• 5.1 What is Act 1 and how does it relate to property taxes?
• 5.2 What effect has Act 1 had on property taxes?
• 5.3 What is board authority and what is the impact of Act 1?
• 5.4 What are the Act 1 referendum exceptions for mandated costs?
• 5.5 Which mandated costs have Act 1 referendum exceptions?
• 5.6 What property tax relief is currently provided?
• 5.7 What was the local income tax referendum option for property tax relief?
• 5.8 What is the senior citizen property tax and rent rebate program?
• 5.9 What are county real estate reassessments?
• 5.10 What are real estate assessment appeals?



Chapter 6. Earned Income Taxes

• 6.1 What are earned income taxes?
• 6.2 What is personal income and earned income?
• 6.3 How has personal and earned income changed over time?
• 6.4 What is the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages?



Chapter 7. Real Estate Transfer Taxes

• 7.1 What are real estate transfer taxes?
• 7.2 How have real estate sales changed over time?
• 7.2 How have home mortgage applications changed over time?



Chapter 8. Delinquent Taxes

• 8.1 What are delinquent taxes?

Unit 3: State Revenues

Chapter 9. Basic Education Funding

• 9.1 What is basic education funding (BEF)?
• 9.2 How is basic education funding distributed?
• 9.3 What are the student-weighted factors in the BEF formula?
• 9.4 What are 3-year average ADMs?
• 9.5 What are the poverty weights?
• 9.6 How is moderate poverty calculated?
• 9.7 How is acute poverty calculated?
• 9.8 How is concentrated poverty calculated?
• 9.9 How does the formula put the poverty weights together?
• 9.10 What is the English language learner component?
• 9.11 What is the charter school component?
• 9.12 What is the sparsity size adjustment?
• 9.13 What is Weighted Student Count?
• 9.14 What are the formula multipliers in the BEF formula?
• 9.15 What is median household income?
• 9.16 What is local effort capacity index?
• 9.17 What is adjusted weighted student count and the "share" concept?
• 9.18 What is the BEF formula dollar increase in the Governor's proposed budget for 2019-20?



Chapter 10. Special Education Funding

• 10.1 What is special education?
• 10.2 What is the special education funding (SEF) formula?
• 10.3 What drives the core of the SEF Formula?
• 10.4 What is the MV/PI Aid Ratio?
• 10.5 What is the Equalized Mills Multiplier?
• 10.6 What is the Adjusted Weighted Student Count and the “share” concept?



Chapter 11. Pupil Transportation Funding




Chapter 12. PSERS Contribution Reimbursement




Chapter 13. Social Security Contribution Reimbursement




Chapter 14. PLANCon State Funding

Unit 4: Federal Revenues

Chapter 15. Federal Title I Funding




Chapter 16. Federal CARES Act Funding




Chapter 17.

Unit 5: Mandated Costs

Chapter 19. Charter School Tuition

• 19.1 What are charter schools, and how many students attend?
• 19.2 What is charter school enrollment by school district?
• 19.3 How are charter schools funded?
• 19.4 How is the charter school special education tuition rate calculated?
• 19.5 How do tuition rates vary across school districts?
• 19.6 How have charter school tuition costs grown?
• 19.7 How do school districts and charter schools compare in their costs per student?
• 19.8 How much do charter school tuition costs compare to Basic Education Funding?
• 19.9 How much of the increases in state BEF cover the growth in mandated charter school tuition costs?
• 19.10 What impact do charter school tuition costs have on property taxes?
• 19.11 How do school district's charter school tuition costs compare to property taxes?
• 19.12 How much of property tax increases cover the growth in mandated charter school tuition costs?



Chapter 20. Special Education Instruction and Support Services

• 20.1 What are special education services under IDEA?
• 20.2 What are special education instructional costs?
• 20.3 What are special education support services costs?
• 20.4 What reporting is required under Act 16?
• 20.5 What services and costs are provided by intermediate units?



Chapter 21. PSERS Contribution Costs

Unit 6: Personnel and Compensation Costs

Chapter 22. Personnel

• 22.1 What are the types of employees that school districts employ?
• 22.2 What are collective bargaining agreements?
• 22.3 What are professional personnel?
• 22.4 How many employees are involved in classroom instruction?
• 22.5 What are support personnel?
• 22.6 What types of personnel and services do school districts contract out to other entities?



Chapter 23. Employee Compensation

• 23.1 What are total compensation costs?
• 23.2 What are total salary costs?
• 23.3 What are minimum, average and maximum teacher salaries?
• 23.4 What are total benefit costs?
• 23.5 What are total social security, worker's compensation and unemployment costs?
• 23.6 What is professional development and total tuition reimbursement costs?
• 23.7 What are total retirement and pension costs?
• 23.8 What are total healthcare costs?
• 23.9 How do healthcare costs vary across school districts?

Unit 7: Operational Costs

Chapter 24. Pupil Transportation

• 24.1 What pupil transportation services are required under law?
• 24.2 What are in-house and contracted transportation services?
• 24.3 How many students are transportated?
• 24.4 How many vehicles transport students?
• 24.5 How many miles do vehicles travel transporting students each day?
• 24.6 What is the daily cost per vehicle?



Chapter 25. School Facilities

• 25.1 How are school facilities managed and maintained?
• 25.2 What are school facility maintainance costs?
• 25.3 What are school construction and renovation costs?
• 25.4 What are debt service costs?
• 25.5 What are school safety and security costs?

Unit 8: Equity and Adequacy

Chapter 26. School Financing Models

• 26.1 What are the different types of models financing public schools?



Chapter 27. Equity




Chapter 28. Adequacy