School Finance Exam Questions and
Answers
Expenditures - Answer-money that is spent by a school district in order to achieve its goals
Receipts - Answer-specific funds from specific sources received as revenue
Accounting - Answer-a system of record keeping and reporting that ensures accurate information
concerning the efficacy of the dollars collected and spent for educational purposes
Auditing - Answer-a process or procedure to verify the financial operations of a school district to
determine whether property and funds have been used in a legal and efficient way
Fund - Answer-a sum of money provided by the public for use by a school district to provide educational
services. Examples in KS- General Fund & Transportation Fund
CAFR - Answer-prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles set by GASB
(Governmental Accounting Standards Board).
GAAS - Answer-used by outside auditors to verify the reveneues and expenditures of a school district
,Encumbrance - Answer-a commitment to spend money for a specific educational item or service. It has
the same budgetary effect as an actual expenditure.
Cost Accounting - Answer-the examination and comparison of specific, related expenditures. For
example, the cost of education at each elementary school, a comparison of the math program costs per
student, or the chemistry program costs per student.
Accrual Accounting - Answer-a type of accounting system whose essential elements include: 1) deferral
of expenditures and amortization of the deferred costs, 2) deferral of revenues until they are earned,
and 3) capitalization of long-term expenditures and the subsequent depreciation of the costs.
Internal Audits - Answer-audits that are conducted by technically qualified personnel already employed
by the school district
External Audits - Answer-audits conducted by qualified agencies or individuals (usually CPA's) from
outside the district
Surety Bond - Answer-a type of insurance that can be purchased from an agent that assures the district
that those involved with the finance of the district will fulfill their duties honestly
First Amendment - Answer-congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof
Tenth Amendment - Answer-powers not delegated to the US by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to
the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people
Lemon Test - Answer-This is the Supreme Court test for statutes dealing with government support for
religious schools. The statute has 3 parts: 1) must have a secular purpose, 2) must not advance nor
inhibit religion, 3) must not foster an excessive government entanglement with religion
, Weisman Perception - Answer-Religious exercises may not be conducted at a graduation where those
who object to the exercise are induced to perform
Goluba Perspective - Answer-A graduating student's initiated prayer is acceptable, even if known by
school officials before hand
Child Benefit Theory - Answer-Cochran v. Louisisana State BOE, 1930. Free textbooks given by the state
to non-public students is acceptable because the children benefit directly, not the churches they
represented
Aguilar-Agostini-Weir Logic - Answer-The Supreme Court determined that the state could not use nor
reimburse non-public schools as public schools for the following reasons: 1) the teacher may
unintentionally espouse religion, 2) it may create a symbolic link between the government and religion,
3) it may provide a subsidy to a religious mission
Agostini v. Felton - Answer-1997. This Supreme Court case overturned Aguilar. The court declared that a
federally funded program (Title 1) providing supplemental, remedial instruction to disadvantaged
children on a neutral basis is acceptable in non-public schools
Choice Argument - Answer-the theory states that allowing parents to choose what schools their
children attend is the only fair procedure. The theory further states that this ability for parents to choose
will help improve the public schools because of the competition that is created.
Tuition Tax Credit - Answer-this is a tax code refinement that would allow private school tuition to be
treated as a tax credit
Voucher - Answer-state reimbursable document with a specific monetary value provided to parents
who would use the document to send their children to any school of their choice
Answers
Expenditures - Answer-money that is spent by a school district in order to achieve its goals
Receipts - Answer-specific funds from specific sources received as revenue
Accounting - Answer-a system of record keeping and reporting that ensures accurate information
concerning the efficacy of the dollars collected and spent for educational purposes
Auditing - Answer-a process or procedure to verify the financial operations of a school district to
determine whether property and funds have been used in a legal and efficient way
Fund - Answer-a sum of money provided by the public for use by a school district to provide educational
services. Examples in KS- General Fund & Transportation Fund
CAFR - Answer-prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles set by GASB
(Governmental Accounting Standards Board).
GAAS - Answer-used by outside auditors to verify the reveneues and expenditures of a school district
,Encumbrance - Answer-a commitment to spend money for a specific educational item or service. It has
the same budgetary effect as an actual expenditure.
Cost Accounting - Answer-the examination and comparison of specific, related expenditures. For
example, the cost of education at each elementary school, a comparison of the math program costs per
student, or the chemistry program costs per student.
Accrual Accounting - Answer-a type of accounting system whose essential elements include: 1) deferral
of expenditures and amortization of the deferred costs, 2) deferral of revenues until they are earned,
and 3) capitalization of long-term expenditures and the subsequent depreciation of the costs.
Internal Audits - Answer-audits that are conducted by technically qualified personnel already employed
by the school district
External Audits - Answer-audits conducted by qualified agencies or individuals (usually CPA's) from
outside the district
Surety Bond - Answer-a type of insurance that can be purchased from an agent that assures the district
that those involved with the finance of the district will fulfill their duties honestly
First Amendment - Answer-congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof
Tenth Amendment - Answer-powers not delegated to the US by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to
the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people
Lemon Test - Answer-This is the Supreme Court test for statutes dealing with government support for
religious schools. The statute has 3 parts: 1) must have a secular purpose, 2) must not advance nor
inhibit religion, 3) must not foster an excessive government entanglement with religion
, Weisman Perception - Answer-Religious exercises may not be conducted at a graduation where those
who object to the exercise are induced to perform
Goluba Perspective - Answer-A graduating student's initiated prayer is acceptable, even if known by
school officials before hand
Child Benefit Theory - Answer-Cochran v. Louisisana State BOE, 1930. Free textbooks given by the state
to non-public students is acceptable because the children benefit directly, not the churches they
represented
Aguilar-Agostini-Weir Logic - Answer-The Supreme Court determined that the state could not use nor
reimburse non-public schools as public schools for the following reasons: 1) the teacher may
unintentionally espouse religion, 2) it may create a symbolic link between the government and religion,
3) it may provide a subsidy to a religious mission
Agostini v. Felton - Answer-1997. This Supreme Court case overturned Aguilar. The court declared that a
federally funded program (Title 1) providing supplemental, remedial instruction to disadvantaged
children on a neutral basis is acceptable in non-public schools
Choice Argument - Answer-the theory states that allowing parents to choose what schools their
children attend is the only fair procedure. The theory further states that this ability for parents to choose
will help improve the public schools because of the competition that is created.
Tuition Tax Credit - Answer-this is a tax code refinement that would allow private school tuition to be
treated as a tax credit
Voucher - Answer-state reimbursable document with a specific monetary value provided to parents
who would use the document to send their children to any school of their choice
