FW: New financial reports at Ed-Data

[Jo Ann Behm <jobehm@behmer.us>]

FYI-  Directions courtesy Ed Source on how to access school district
financial information.  Ed Source would like feedback---how did it work,
what else would be informative/useful  < ed-datasurvey@edsource.org>.

Jo
------------------------
 
Jo Rupert Behm, M.S., RN
State and Federal Health and Education Public Policy Consultant
Salud y Justica

"Convincing Grown-ups to Enact Responsible Policy and Legislation When
Deciding the Future of Children"  JRB January, '04


------ Forwarded Message
From: EdSource <edsource@edsource.org>
Date: Fri, 14 Apr 2006 11:48:26 -0700
To: <ed-data@list.edsource.org>
Subject: New financial reports at Ed-Data

Have you ever wondered about the grand total of all the revenue a school
district has? About how much it spends on the direct instruction of
students? About its average teacher's salary compared to the statewide
average?

Today Ed-Data debuts a brand new, easy-to-understand set of reports --
"Financial Reports for District" -- for all California school districts and
county offices of education on <http://www.ed-data.k12.ca.us >. Beginning
with
the 2003-04 school year, these reports begin to tap into the full financial
reporting capability of California's Standardized Account Code Structure
(SACS). 

Just select a school district and use the pull-down menu to open "Financial
Reports for District." Similar information is also available for County
Offices of Education on the county level. Until the 2004-05 data is posted,
change the year to 2003-04 to find the "Intro" that describes the structure
of the reports.

This first release provides new perspectives on 2003-04 data (2004-05 will
be released soon). The financial information long available on Ed-Data has
been expanded and enhanced to reflect restricted and unrestricted revenues
and expenditures. The new All Funds tab goes beyond the General Fund to give
you a full picture of your district's revenues and expenditures, including
capital projects. Another tab focuses on General Fund expenditures by
activity, such as instruction or specific pupil services. To help you
understand the data, the individual items have explanatory links to the
California School Accounting Manual.

You can use the pull-down menu again to view the new, robust "Compare
District Finances." New functionality allows you to compare your selected
district to similar ones based on a number of criteria, such as revenue
limits and beginning teacher salaries. Or you can search for the "highest"
or "lowest" districts, again on criteria of your choosing.

You might also like to look at the updated comparison of California to the
other states. Just click on "How California Compares" on the home page.

We would appreciate your feedback, especially about what additional
financial information or comparisons would be interesting or helpful. Please
let us know at ed-datasurvey@edsource.org.

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