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| The responsibility for the financial management of the Ferndale School District rests with the school board, the superintendent, and the staff retained to manage the operations of the school district. However, the district’s financial management is regulated by state law and supervised by the Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction. The Ferndale School District must follow uniform guidelines for budgeting, accounting, and financial reporting practices. These guidelines ensure consistent and comparable data for each of the state’s school districts. Additionally, the Washington State Auditor audits the school district financial records for compliance with laws and regulations, general accounting practices, and adequate internal controls. |
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| Each school district in the state is required to develop and adopt its own budget prior to the beginning of each school year. The budget process is governed by state law, state regulations, and instructions provided by the Superintendent of Public Instruction with budgets prepared on forms strictly prescribed for this purpose. |
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| Governmental accounting systems in the state of Washington are organized and operated on a fund basis. A fund is defined as a fiscal and accounting entity with a self-balancing set of accounts recording cash and other financial resources, together with all related liabilities. |
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| Because all governmental units receive financial resources that may be used only in accordance with restrictions established by law, accounting systems must demonstrate compliance with such restrictions. This need has resulted in the development of the fund accounting concept as a means of control. |
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| The budget for the Ferndale School District consists of five separate funds: |
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| General Fund – The general fund is financed from local, county, state and federal sources. These revenues are generally used for financing the current ordinary normal and recurring operations of the school district such as programs of instruction for students (including salaries and benefits), food services, maintenance, data processing, printing, and pupil transportation. |
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| Associated Student Body Fund – The associated student body fund is financed, in part, by the establishment and collection of fees from students and nonstudents as a condition of their attendance at any optional noncredit extracurricular event of the district. While ASB funds are considered to belong to the students, as a special revenue fund, the ASB fund is under the control, supervision, and approval of the board of directors, with the school district legally owning the resources accounted for in the ASB fund. |
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| Debt Service Fund – Debt service funds account for the accumulation of resources for and the payment of long-term debt principal and interest. This fund is established to account for the payment of principal, interest, and other expenditures related to the redemption of outstanding bonds. |
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| Capital Projects Fund – The capital projects fund can be used for the acquisition of land or existing facilities, construction of buildings, purchase of equipment related to construction, and acquisition of portable classroom units. The capital projects fund is generally funded from the proceeds from the sale of voter-approved bonds, state matching funds, impact/mitigation fees from new development, and interest earnings. |
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| Transportation Vehicle Fund – The transportation vehicle fund is provided to account for the state reimbursement to the school district for depreciation of approved pupil transportation equipment and for the purchase and major repair of such equipment. |
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| The expenditure authority for each of these funds for the 2007-08 budget is presented to the Ferndale School District Board of Directors for review at their board work session June 8, 2007, is summarized as follows: |
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2007-08 Budget Summary |
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General Fund: |
$47,118,541.00 |
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Associated Student Body: |
$710,509.00 |
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Debt Service Fund: |
$6,143,495.00 |
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Capital Projects Fund: |
$25,000,000.00 |
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Transportation Vehicle Fund: |
$380,000.00 |
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