15-904. School district annual financial report; publication; summary

A. The governing board of each school district shall publish an annual financial report for the prior fiscal year by November 15. The auditor general in conjunction with the department of education shall prescribe the format of the financial report to be used by school districts. The financial report shall contain budgeted and actual expenditures for the preceding fiscal year and shall be prepared and distributed by October 15 by the school district with a copy to the county school superintendent. A copy of the annual financial report shall be submitted electronically by the school district to the superintendent of public instruction by October 15. On or before October 15, the governing board shall submit the annual financial report for the previous fiscal year to the department of education, which shall prominently display this information about that school district on the website maintained by the department. If the school district maintains a website, the school district shall post a link to the website of the department of education where this information about the school district is posted.

B. In addition to the information required in subsection A of this section, the annual financial report shall contain detailed information on the school district budgeted and actual expenditures from the bond building fund, the unrestricted capital fund, the adjacent ways fund, the deficiencies correction fund and the new school facilities fund, including information on classified salaries, employee benefits, interest and fiscal charges, capital lease agreements, land and improvements, buildings and improvements, furniture and equipment, technology and vehicles and transportation equipment for pupils. The information shall specify whether the expenditures are for school district renovation or for new construction, the cost per square foot and land acquisition costs, as appropriate.

C. Except as provided in subsection D of this section, the governing board shall publish, by November 15, the annual financial report for the school district either in a newspaper of general circulation within the school district, by electronic transmission of the information to the department of education for posting on the department's website or in the official newspaper of the county as prescribed in section 11-255, or the governing board may mail the annual financial report for the school district to each household in the school district. If the governing board chooses to transmit the report electronically to the department of education, the school district shall provide a link on the school district's website to the report on the department's website. If the governing board chooses to publish the report in a newspaper, the size of the newspaper print shall be at least eight-point type. The cost of publication or mailing shall be a charge against the school district. The publisher's affidavit of publication shall be filed by the governing board of the school district with the superintendent of public instruction within thirty days after publication.

D. The governing board may publish or mail a summary of the annual financial report in the same manner as provided in subsection C of this section. The auditor general in conjunction with the department of education shall prescribe the form of the summary of the annual financial report for use by the governing boards.

E. The superintendent of public instruction shall compile the financial reports of the school districts, including expenditure data for federal and state projects, and shall report to the governor and the legislature on or before January 15 of each year as provided in section 15-255.

F. Beginning in fiscal year 2020-2021, the annual financial report prescribed by this section shall include the school level data for charter schools and schools operated by school districts prescribed in section 15-746, subsection E.