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Fund Financial Statements
Fund financial statements are one of the components of the basic financial statements. A fund is a grouping of related accounts that is used to maintain control over resources that have been segregated for specific activities or objectives. The District uses fund accounting to ensure and demonstrate compliance with finance-related legal requirements and prudent fiscal management. Certain funds are established by law while others are created by legal agreements, such as bond covenants. Fund financial statements provide more detailed information about the District’s financial activities, focusing on its most significant or “major” funds rather than fund types. This is in contrast to the entity-wide perspective contained in the government-wide statements. All of the District’s funds may be classified within one of three broad categories as discussed below.
Governmental Funds – Governmental funds are used to account for essentially the same functions reported as governmental activities in the government-wide financial statements. However, the governmental funds utilize a spendable financial resources measurement focus rather than the economic resources measurement focus found in the government-wide financial statements. The financial resources measurement focus allows the governmental fund statements to provide information on near-term inflows and outflows of spendable resources, as well as, balances of spendable resources available at the end of the fiscal year.
The governmental fund statements provide a detailed short-term view that may be used to evaluate the District’s near-term financing requirements. This short-term view is useful when compared to the long-term view presented as governmental activities in the government-wide financial statements. To facilitate this comparison, both the governmental funds balance sheet and the governmental funds statement of revenues, expenditures, and changes in fund balances provide a reconciliation of governmental funds to governmental activities.
The governmental funds balance sheet and statement of revenues, expenditures, and changes in fund balances provide detailed information about the District’s most significant funds. The District’s major funds are the General Fund, Debt Service-Other, Capital Projects –Other, Special Revenue- Other Federal Programs Fund, and Special Revenue-Federal Education Stabilization Fund. Data from the other governmental funds are combined into a single, aggregated presentation.
Proprietary Funds – Proprietary funds may be established to account for activities in which a fee is charged for services. Two types of proprietary funds are maintained:
Enterprise funds are used to report the same functions as business-type activities in the government-wide financial statements. The District uses an enterprise fund to account for its before and after-school childcare and vending programs. The District’s major enterprise fund is the After School Enrichment Program (ASEP) Fund.
Internal service funds are used to report activities that provide goods and services to support the District’s other programs and functions through user charges. The District uses internal service funds to account for its fully insured employees’ life insurance; individual self-insurance programs for property/casualty, liability, auto, workers’ compensation, medical, pharmacy and behavioral health programs; the employee benefits program; the energy management program; and exclusive agreements administered by the School Board. Since these services predominantly benefit governmental rather than business-type functions, the internal service funds have been included within governmental activities in the government-wide financial statements.
Fiduciary Funds – Fiduciary funds are used to report assets held in a trustee or fiduciary capacity for the benefit of external parties, such as student activity funds. Fiduciary funds are not reflected in the government-wide statements because the resources are not available to support the District’s own programs. In its fiduciary capacity, the District is responsible for ensuring the assets reported in these funds are used only for their intended purposes.
The District uses a private-purpose trust fund to account for scholarship funds established by private donors.
The District uses a pension trust fund to account for resources used to finance its early retirement program.
The District uses custodial funds to account for resources held for student activities and groups.