Page 5 - School Finance Manual 2023-24

OVERVIEW: “A Global Perspective” 5

The public elementary and secondary schools of and approved Students FIRST (Fair and Immediate
Arizona are governed by the Arizona Constitution and Resources for Students Today) legislation. Students
Title 15 of the Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.). The FIRST created a completely new capital financing
legislature has required that the Arizona Department of system aimed at creating minimum adequacy stan-
Education and the state’s Auditor General interpret Title dards for capital related issues in public schools. This
15 and design the state’s Uniform System of Finan- system more tightly controls the capital funding as
cial Records (USFR) which is used in maintaining local compared with the past when it was typically financed
school district financial records and preparing reports. by the sale of general obligation bonds. The Students
Two USFR manuals exist, one for school districts and FIRST program is governed by the state School Facili-
one for charter schools. The USFR ties Oversight Board.
prescribes the accounting system,
minimum requirements for internal The focus of this In 1995 the Legislature authorized
controls, and includes a detailed charter schools — a new educational
description of the legally established manual is to provide option. In the first years, charter school
chart of accounts structure. The USFR an understanding of funding was based on the RCL, CORL
and Memorandums are available to the way public school and Capital Levy Revenue Limit
download from the Auditor General’s (CLRL), which was calculated in the
site (www.azauditor.gov). The USFR districts in the State of same manner as the districts. Over
includes a calendar, chart of accounts, Arizona are funded the years, the funding has evolved to
compliance requirements, best prac- include Charter Additional Assistance,
tice procedures, and other valuable which replaced the CORL, CLRL and
information. Transportation funding, plus additional
monies in lieu of capital funding from the School Facili-
In 1980-81, the Arizona Legislature refined the school ties Oversight Board (SFOB).
finance system to provide equal dollars per weighted
pupil for school district operations through a balancing The focus of this manual is to provide an understanding
of the local qualifying property tax rate and State of the way public school districts in the State of Arizona
and County equalization assistance. This concept, are funded and does not include charter school funding.
commonly referred to as the “equalization formula” The sections that follow will help to better understand
allowed school districts throughout the State of Arizona some of the detailed components that make up the
to experience similar “effort” in raising educational financing formulas.
dollars for their students irrespective of the prop-
erty valuations within their boundaries. This equaliza-
tion formula is still utilized today in funding a district’s
Revenue Control Limit (RCL) and Capital Outlay
Revenue Limit (CORL) now known as District Additional
Assistance (DAA). Further details of these formulas are
included in the section of this document entitled, Budget
Formula Construction.

In 1994, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that the
state’s statutory formula for funding school facili-
ties and equipment violated the Arizona Constitution.
A four-year struggle to create a new capital finance
system ended July 9, 1998 when the legislature passed

Arizona Association of School Business Officials | School Finance Summary Manual