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HomeEducation CodeCh. 2Art. 2§ 33128 School District Financial Standards

§ 33128 School District Financial Standards

Education Code·California
AI Summary·Official Text·Key Terms·Related Statutes·References
AI SummaryVerified

§ 33128 School District Financial Standards

Key Takeaways

  • •Schools must check their money stuff regularly, like how many kids show up, how much money they get and spend, and how much they save.
  • •They have to look at big money promises, like raises for teachers, to make sure they can pay for them later.
  • •Schools get a 'money health' check to see if they're doing okay or if they might have money problems soon.
  • •They can't use one-time money (like a gift) to pay for things that cost money every year (like teacher salaries).

Example

A school gets a big donation of $100,000 and uses it to give all teachers a raise.

This is bad because the donation is one-time money, but teacher raises cost money every year. Next year, they might not have enough money to pay the teachers, and that’s a big problem.

AI-generated — May contain errors. Not legal advice. Always verify source.

Official Source
View on CA.gov

§ 33128 School District Financial Standards

(a) The standards and criteria to be adopted by the State Board of Education pursuant to Section 33127 shall include, but not be limited to, comparisons and reviews, including appropriate methods of projection, of all of the following: (1) Average daily attendance. (2) Revenues and expenditures. (3) Reserves and fund balance. (4) Multiyear commitments, including cost-of-living adjustments. (b) In addition to the requirements of subdivision (a), the standards and criteria to be adopted by the State Board of Education pursuant to Section 33127 shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following: (1) Clear definitions and guidelines for positive, qualified, and negative interim financial certifications pursuant to Sections 42130 and 42131. (2) District financial health indicators to provide a comprehensive review and assessment of the financial condition of districts and to help identify districts that are developing financial problems before the problems become severe. The indicators shall take into account issues including, but not limited to, all of the following: (A) Increasing or decreasing balances available for general purposes and general purpose reserve size relative to the standard for the district. (B) Long-term commitments for rates of increase in significant cost centers that are more or less than current revenue growth rate projections, including the projected cost change of the workforce taking into account the progression of newer hires and existing staff through the salary schedule and likely turnover, and all compensation for the superintendent of the school district and executive positions reporting directly to the superintendent of the school district. (C) Use of one-time revenues for ongoing costs. (D) Use of ongoing revenues for one-time costs. (E) Appropriate recognition and amortization of future commitments including any district-created benefit program. (F) Facilities maintenance funding adequate to preserve functionality of facilities for their normal life. (Amended (as amended by Stats. 2002, Ch. 1168, Sec. 6.7) by Stats. 2004, Ch. 52, Sec. 2. Effective June 21, 2004. This section (as derived from Stats. 1998, Ch. 784, Sec. 2) became operative on June 21, 2004, when its delayed operative date was deleted.)

Last verified: January 23, 2026

Key Terms

standards and criteriaState Board of Educationfinancial certificationsdistrict financial health indicators

Related Statutes

  • § 33129 Local Education Budget Standards
  • § 33111 Superintendent Executive Authority
  • § 33113 Federal Funds For Schools
  • § 33125 Special School Employee Annuities
  • § 33127 School Budget Fiscal Standards

References

  • Official text at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
  • California Legislature. Education Code. Section 33128.
View Official Source