Some of the most important duties that a school board preforms are discussing and finalizing budgets for the charter each year, monitoring spending activity to ensure it meets budgetary guidelines, and making tough decisions when cuts are necessary. The board may also consider any opportunities for the charter to generate additional revenue. What exactly is … Read More
Texas Charter Procurement
The goal and function of purchasing departments in charter schools is to provide the highest quality goods and services available within the parameters of the approved budget and in compliance with all applicable guidelines and laws. Some charter districts are a one-man or two-man operation, so it’s even more important that all checks and balances … Read More
Operational Minutes Adjustment 2021-2022
The Texas Education Agency has announced that LEAs will receive an automatic adjustment to operational minutes for the 1st – 4th six-weeks attendance reporting periods to mitigate against FSP funding reductions due to low percentage attendance rates. This will allow LEAs the opportunity to recoup funds lost due to low attendance rates likely caused from … Read More
ARP Maintenance of Equity Test
Note: CSS is re-running this Tip from November because MOEquity testing was delayed by TEA, and now is up and running again. We are seeing red this February –red tape that is! The extra COVID funds sure are nice, but with them comes extra reporting. CSS has another compliance test to warn you about that … Read More
Salary/Payroll Overview – The Total Package
Compensation An employee’s compensation is determined by their position and responsibilities along with the amount of related experience and education they’ve obtained. An organization determines what tool best fits their structure. Districts utilize Pay Scales, Pay Grades, and Pay Step Scales to assist in the Compensation Process. These scales can fluctuate from one year to … Read More
Completing Fall Time and Effort for Federally Funded Staff
Time and effort are two things we all wish we had more of, but what do they mean in federal grants lingo? You may have been asked by auditors before for “time and effort” paperwork for your federally-funded personnel. With the fall semester coming to an end, it is time to pay attention to this … Read More
Independent Contractor or Employee?
As we encounter the end of one year and the beginning of another, many year-end accounting tasks are upon us, including the issuance of W2s and 1099s to those who have performed work for us during 2021. To determine who needs to get which type of tax form, we must be able to properly classify … Read More
Applying for your Texas Work Commission (TWC) account
Once a Charter School has four or more employees on their payroll for more than 20 weeks, it’s time to apply for your Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) account. This means that the charter will now be obligated to report their employees’ wages to the state unemployment office and should start paying SUTA taxes. The “Status … Read More
Charter FIRST Rating: Notice and Public Hearing
Charter FIRST is the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST), which is detailed in Texas Education Code 39.082. The purpose and goal of having a financial accountability rating system is to ensure that open enrollment charter schools continually strive to improve the management of their financial resources and provide transparency and openly report results to … Read More
Preparing for your Year-End Audit
By now your charter school has likely begun its year-end audit process of pulling back up documentation for several areas of your business services. While no one is excited for year-end audits, there are lots of ways to lessen the burden and ensure that the audit runs smoothly. At Charter School Success, we help our … Read More