N.J. Admin. Code § 6A:23A-13.3

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 9, May 6, 2024

Section 6A:23A-13.3 - Transfers during the budget year

(a) All transfers shall be executed only by district board of education resolution approved in accordance with law and regulation applicable to the particular circumstances. Each resolution shall indicate the exact amount of the transfer(s) to and from the applicable accounts or fund balance.

(b) A district board of education may transfer surplus or other unbudgeted or underbudgeted revenue between April 1 and June 30 only upon prior approval by the executive county superintendent, as the Commissioner's designee, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:22-8.1. Requests shall be received by June 30. All approved transfer requests shall be expended or encumbered for the approved use by June 30, or the district board of education shall reserve and designate the funds for appropriation in the subsequent budget year. To request approval of such transfers, a district board of education shall submit to the executive county superintendent the following:

1. Documentation of approval of the transfer by a two-thirds affirmative vote of the authorized membership of the district board of education;

2. Certification by the same membership that the transfer is necessary to achieve the thoroughness standards for the current year. The certification shall include the purpose, need of transfer, and, at a minimum, a list of specific line items to be transferred into and corresponding amounts. Requests to appropriate surplus for textbooks, computers, equipment, or other needs for use and operation for the subsequent school year shall not be considered a need for the current year and shall not be approved; and

3. The latest board secretary's report as documentation that no other line item balances are available and all appropriation balances are or will be expended or encumbered.

(c) Prior to April 1, a district board of education may petition the Commissioner, by a two-thirds affirmative vote of the authorized membership of the district board of education, for approval of a transfer of surplus or other unbudgeted or underbudgeted revenue only for an emergent circumstance. The district board of education shall be subject to an on-site inspection by the executive county superintendent for verification of the emergent circumstance and other supporting documentation. The district board of education shall submit the district board of education-approved petition to the executive county superintendent for recommendation to the Commissioner. At a minimum, the district board of education shall include the following in its submission:

1. Certification the transfer is necessary for an emergent circumstance, no other line-item balances are or will be available, and the remaining surplus will enable the district board of education to operate in a fiscally solvent position for the remainder of the budget year;

2. Documentation the emergent circumstance, if not addressed through an appropriation of additional revenue, would render peril to the health and safety of students or staff, and/or force the school district into an operating deficit as a result of the required implementation of the thoroughness standards;

3. The latest board secretary's report as documentation that no other line item balances are or will be available as set forth in (c)3i below:

i. Any unexpended, unencumbered balances are for non-discretionary fixed costs and supported by historical expenditures or other documentation ensuring that the balances will be expended by June 30; and

4. Evidence of approval of the petition and supporting documentation by a two-thirds affirmative vote of the authorized membership of the district board of education.

(d) A district board of education may at any time and without Commissioner approval:

1. Appropriate unbudgeted or underbudgeted State aid for which approval was granted by the Department in the written notification to the district board of education of the additional aid;

2. Appropriate unbudgeted and underbudgeted tuition revenue generated from a school district specific program that is not part of a formal sending-receiving relationship, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:38-19 and 18A:46-21;

3. Appropriate unbudgeted or underbudgeted school transportation revenue generated from a school district's or coordinated transportation services agency's role as the host provider of school transportation services, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:39-11 and 11.1;

4. Appropriate unbudgeted or underbudgeted restricted miscellaneous local revenue;

5. Appropriate unbudgeted or underbudgeted Federal revenue;

6. Appropriate surplus generated from any Federal and/or State revenue excluded from the excess surplus calculation in the prebudget year in accordance with the annual audit program; and

7. Appropriate unbudgeted or underbudgeted revenue from school bus advertising or restricted fund balance that has been designated to offset fuel costs associated with the provision of transportation services pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:39-31.

(e) As used in this section, general fund appropriation account means the required advertised appropriation accounts pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:22-1 et seq., except where consolidated as follows:

1. Basic skills, bilingual, and special education instruction, including other related and extraordinary services;

2. Student activities, student athletics, and other student instructional services;

3. Student support services, including attendance, health, guidance, child study team, and media;

4. Improvement of instruction and staff training; and

5. Special programs (fund 13).

(f) For all transfers from any general fund appropriation account as defined in (e) above, and as amended to include prior year encumbrances carried forward to the current year and revenue appropriated pursuant to (d) above, the district board of education shall obtain approval for such transfers by two-thirds affirmative vote of the authorized membership of the district board of education, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:22-8.1.

1. When the total amount of such transfers, on a cumulative basis, exceeds 10 percent of the amount of the account that was included in the school district's budget as certified for taxes, as amended to include prior year encumbrances carried forward to the current year and revenue appropriated pursuant to (d) above, the district board of education shall request in writing approval from the executive county superintendent, as the Commissioner's designee, by submitting the request and purpose for the transfer using the report pursuant to (i) below.

i. The district board of education may request approval from the executive county superintendent prior to obtaining the two-thirds affirmative vote of the authorized membership of the district board of education for such approval.

ii. A district board of education's written transfer request shall be deemed approved after 10 business days of receipt of the request by the executive county superintendent if no executive county superintendent approval or denial is provided within that timeframe. A district board of education shall maintain proof in the form of a sent and received e-mail receipt, or other form of documentation of proof of delivery to the executive county superintendent for all transfer requests deemed approved under this subsection.

2. Prior to any transfer(s) from capital outlay accounts to current expense, except for equipment, a district board of education shall submit to the executive county superintendent a written request for approval with documentation the transfer is required due to demonstrated hardship.

(g) For all transfers to the advertised appropriation accounts identified as general administration, school administration, central services, or administrative information technology that, on a cumulative basis, exceed 10 percent of the amount of the account included in the school district's budget as certified for taxes, amended to include prior year encumbrances carried forward to the current year, a district board of education shall submit, prior to the transfer, to the executive county superintendent a request for approval in a Commissioner-prescribed format.

1. Such approval will not be granted, except as provided in (g)2 below if:

i. The school district's budget currently exceeds the administrative cost limits; or

ii. The transfer would result in a budget in excess of the administrative cost limits in the applicable budget year, as prescribed in N.J.S.A. 18A:7F-5.c.

2. Transfers may be approved to support a contractual obligation or one-time increase in spending as justified by district board of education documentation. Transfers may not be approved if the school district did not budget sufficient funds upon review of actual expenditures and historical trends in those accounts. A district board of education that is granted approval remains subject to the requirements in N.J.S.A. 18A:7F-5.c.

(h) For all transfers to the advertised appropriation accounts identified as capital outlay for a capital outlay project not previously approved by voters or the board of school estimate, pursuant to N.J.A.C. 6A:23A-8.4, a district board of education shall submit, prior to the transfer, to the executive county superintendent a request for approval. Approvals are required for unbudgeted or underbudgeted revenue, including those listed and appropriated pursuant to (d) above, and shall be granted only for requests with written documentation that supports the existence of an emergent circumstance, as defined in (c)2 above, and only after an on-site inspection by the executive county superintendent to verify the emergent circumstance. Transfers to equipment accounts or to supplement a capital outlay project previously approved by voters or the board of school estimate, pursuant to N.J.A.C. 6A:23A-8.4, do not require approval by the executive county superintendent.

(i) Each district board of education shall maintain a report of current month and year-to-date transfers between general fund appropriation accounts as defined in (e) above, in a Commissioner-prescribed format or in a format developed locally and approved by the executive county superintendent. The district board of education shall submit the report to the executive county superintendent with any transfer request(s) and in accordance with the submission requirements of the board secretary's and treasurer's financial reports under N.J.A.C. 6A:23A-16.10.

N.J. Admin. Code § 6A:23A-13.3

Amended by 49 N.J.R. 1038(a), effective 5/1/2017