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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Seventh Legislature, Second Regular Session
school districts; funds; financial reports
Purpose
Sets August 15 as the date by which the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) and the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) must prescribe the format of the annual financial report (AFR) and summary form of the AFR. Repeals the requirement for a school district governing board (governing board) to deposit specified grants or gifts into a separate bank account if the gift or grant is not deposited with the county treasurer. Directs a governing board to close the bank account and transfer remaining monies to the county treasurer.
Background
A governing board must annually publish, by November 15, an AFR for the prior fiscal year. The OAG, in conjunction with ADE, must prescribe the AFR format to be used by school districts and summary form of the AFR to be used by governing boards. The AFR must contain budgeted and actual expenditures for the previous fiscal year, including detailed information for: 1) the bond building fund; 2) the unrestricted capital fund; 3) the adjacent ways fund; 4) the deficiencies correction fund; and 5) the new school facilities fund. The Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) compiles all school district AFRs for the SPI's Annual Report, which is annually reported to the Governor and the Legislature by January 15 (A.R.S. §§ 15-255 and 15-904).
A governing board must deposit monies the school district receives as gifts, grants and devises with the county treasurer, who must credit the deposits as designated in the Uniform System of Financial Records (USFR). Unless inconsistent with the terms of the gifts, grants and devises given, any balance remaining after expenditures have been made for the monies' intended purposes must be used to reduce school district taxes for the budget year. If a school district receives a grant or gift that is less than $1,500 and designated for use by a teacher for instructional purposes and the governing board does not deposit the grant or gift with the county treasurer, the governing board must deposit the grant or gift in a separate bank account. A separate record must be maintained for each grant or gift deposited in the bank account and disbursements from the bank account must be by check, signed by two school district employees appointed by the governing board and be authorized by the teacher designated to use the grant or gift as provided in the USFR. If any of the monies are not spent before the end of the fiscal year in which the gift or grant was accepted, the balance of the monies must remain in the bank account until needed for instructional purposes as designated by the teacher, or determined by the grantor (A.R.S. § 15-341 and 15-1224).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Sets August 15 as the date by which the OAG, in conjunction with ADE, must prescribe the:
a) format of the AFR to be used by school districts; and
b) summary form of the AFR for use by governing boards.
2. Repeals the requirement for a governing board to deposit, in a separate bank account, grants or gifts that are less than $1,500 and designated for use by a teacher for instructional purposes if the governing board does not deposit the grant or gift with the county treasurer.
3. Directs each governing board to close the bank account opened to receive the outlined grants and gifts and transfer any remaining monies to the county treasurer for deposit.
4. Makes technical and conforming changes.
5. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Prepared by Senate Research
February 16, 2026
MH/KP/hk