Fund 10 Balances Under Revenue Controls - April 2002

The general operating budget for school districts is called the Fund 10. Fund 10 balances are the
differences between district revenues and expenditures. Data on the attached spreadsheet comes from
Annual Reports submitted by school districts to the Department of Public Instruction.

The data can help assess the overall financial health of a district relative to other districts, and how
reserve funds fared under revenue controls.

Since 1993-94, districts experienced a wide range of change in Fund 10 balances. The average increase
statewide was 47.70 percent (205 districts gained more), but changes ranged from a gain of almost 2000
percent to a loss of more than lOO percent. Seventy-one districts experienced a net loss in their Fund 10
balance over the time period.

However, in the 2000-01 school year, districts statewide maintained a 17.9 percent Fund 10 balance,
more than the 16.4 percent held in 1993. This suggests that most districts are accumulating funds despite
revenue controls. In dollar amounts, districts gained an average of $948,053 statewide; 127 districts
gained more than $1 million in reserve funds.

Some small districts maintain a large percent of their budget in reserve, but the actual dollar amount
may be minimal. Also, some districts experienced large increases in Fund 10 balances since 1993 but
may still maintain less than average amounts today. Gains, therefore, must be examined in light of a
district's current year ranking and whether or not it is above or below the statewide average. Finally,
large districts that hold below average percents may actually have more reserve dollars than other
districts. Statewide averages at the top of each page on the spreadsheet help to gauge a district's relative
worth.

Fund 10 amounts are larger today than they were in 1993. Reserves in 349 districts increased; in 201
instances they increased by more than 50 percent.

Reserve funds are not a bank account that is debited, but rather are a buffer that exists between a
district's revenues and expenditures. As district expenditures have increased, so have district revenues. If
schools could operate with smaller reserve balances (or buffers) in 1993, they ought to be able to operate
with similar levels of reserve funds today-especially in terms of the percent held.

Total Allowable Revenues Under Revenue Controls - January 2002

Since 1993, the revenue control law has restricted funding for all districts. "Allowable revenues" are the
total amount of money that, by law, each district can spend annually. The attached revenue data come
from DPI; the totals listed are the amount each district could spend under the revenue cap law; the
increases listed are district gains in revenue. "Allowable revenues" are based on a three-year average of
student membership, the annual legislated increase in per pupil spending, and the amount of money that
a district spent per pupil the previous year.

Due to the interactions of the above three variables, school districts received a wide-range of increases
in "allowable revenues" since the 1993-94 school year .The average increase in revenues statewide was
37.93 percent; 190 districts gained more than this and the rest did not. The median increase was 36.34
percent; half the state's districts gained more than this amount. District revenues ranged from a gain of
134.27 percent to a loss of -3.53 percent statewide.
 Ranked by total percentage increase
Total Allowable Total Allowable
Fund 10 Balance Fund 10 Balance Percent Revenues Limit Revenues Limit Percent
Bay Conference: 1993-94 2000-01 Increase 1993-94 2000-01 Increase
De Pere $2,019,756 $4,663,248 130.88% $10,123,875 $17,747,218 75.30%
Howard/Suamico $1,246,021 $2,742,766 120.12% $16,079,600 $27,845,360 73.17%
New London $283,110 $610,590 115.67% $12,242,613 $16,851,020 37.64%
Seymour $1,079,861 $1,722,797 59.64% $11,638,761 $16,439,936 41.25%
Pulaski $229,329 $281,168 22.60% $14,163,271 $23,153,611 63.48%
West DePere $1,954,224 $2,000,130 2.35% $9,130,884 $13,282,702 45.47%
Shawano-Gresham $4,411,643 $3,829,763 -13.19% $11,806,359 $18,446,465 56.24%
Ashwaubenon $6,752,427 $6,808,841 0.84% $17,612,100 $23,918,620 35.81%
Marinette $2,631,527 $2,615,752 -0.60% $13,993,506 $18,009,024 28.70%

Other area:
Kaukauna $221,654 $1,726,435 678.89% $17,771,988 $25,126,615 41.38%
Luxemburg/Casco $1,751,584 $3,074,996 75.56% $7,653,880 $12,127,392 58.45%
Green Bay $21,401,365 $29,602,978 38.32% $97,718,498 $133,230,350 36.34%
Wrightstown $675,997 $647,696 -4.19% $3,974,500 $6,613,222 66.39%
Denmark $729,472 $540,876 -25.85% $6,684,675 $10,386,661 55.38%
Luxemburg/Casco $1,751,584 $3,074,996 75.56% $7,653,880 $12,127,392 58.45%
Oconto Falls $639,415 $714,571 11.75% $9,007,994 $12,517,227 38.96%

Information from the Department of Public Instruction and the Wisconsin Education Association Council