The State School Aid Act, MCL 388.1618, requires all Michigan public school districts to make a number of accounting resources and documents available on the school district’s publicly accessible website for transparency purposes. The Budget and Salary/Compensation Transparency Reporting page of each school district must include the following 16 items:
- Current year Board of Education approved budgets
- Most recent fiscal year personnel expenditures
- Most recent fiscal year operating expenditures
- Current bargaining agreements
- Current employer-sponsored healthcare plans
- Most recent fiscal year audited financial statements
- Medical benefit plan bids
- Current district procurement policies
- Current district expense reimbursement policies
- Most recent fiscal year accounts payable check register or statement of reimbursed expenses
- Employee compensation information for the superintendent and any employees whose salary exceeds $100,000
- Most recent fiscal year district-paid association dues
- Most recent fiscal year district-paid lobbying costs
- State-approved deficit elimination plans
- Current district credit card information
- District-paid out-of-state travel information
Intermediate school districts are required to post items 1-2 and 4-10 listed above. If a school district fails to comply with the posting requirements, the Michigan Department of Education may withhold up to 10% of the school district’s state school aid until the school district complies with the statutory requirements. Therefore, it is important for school districts to keep up-to-date information on their Budget and Salary/Compensation Transparency Reporting pages.