Section V - Fiscal/Management

Section V - Fiscal/Management Plans

(Please complete all applicable items in Sections II through VII. Descriptions of your school organization and education plans should be as detailed as possible. Avoid using generic curricula and descriptions of other schools or programs. Be specific in describing your plans. Applications should be typed double-spaced and organized by sections with items numbered accordingly.)

Fiscal Plan

1. Provide a proposed budget for the school, including supporting evidence that the school shall have access to sufficient capital to cover all operating, property maintenance, leasing or purchase costs during the start-up period. The budget should be in a form consistent with Attachment A.

2. Provide a budget narrative that clearly describes the school’s anticipated fiscal policies and/or anticipated expenses in the following areas:

Purchasing practices/competitive bid process;

Types and amounts of insurance coverage including liability, property loss, and personal injury. Also include a narrative to describe the school's anticipated policy dealing with insurance reserves; and,

Any expenses related to site renovation or minor remodeling necessary to achieve a Certificate of Occupancy.

3. Provide a narrative explaining how the amounts of projected revenues in Attachment A, Schedule 4 were calculated. Include an explanation of the anticipated number of students to be served in the initial year of operation and a written disclosure of the number of students by home school district. All anticipated state and federal grant funds should be clearly described. Private funds, including donor restricted and unrestricted gifts, donations or grants must be disclosed including an explanation of how the Board of Trustees plans to use such funds.

4. Provide evidence that all affected school districts of location have been informed of this application and its potential impact upon the district in a timely manner.

5. Provide a written disclosure of all anticipated related party transactions that may occur as a result of a less-than-arm's-length (LTAL) relationship with a related party in accordance with the following definition:

In general, a LTAL relationship exists when there are related parties and one party can exercise control or significant influence over the management or operating policies of another party, to the extent that one of the parties is or may be prevented from fully pursuing its own separate interests. These relationships must be disclosed in the "Notes" section of the audited financial statements.

Related parties consist of all affiliates of a charter school including but not limited to:

Its management and their immediate families;

Its principal owners and their immediate families;

Any party that may have an opportunity to enter into a transaction, or deal with the school and that party has ownership of, control over, or can significantly influence the management or operating policies of a school to the extent that an arm's length transaction may not be achieved.

Common related party transactions include the following:

services received or furnished (e.g., accounting, management, engineering, legal services);

purchases and transfers of realty and personal property;

lease of equipment;

lease of real property.

6. Provide evidence to demonstrate that adequate internal controls exist for the protection of school assets.

7. Provide an assessment of the projected programmatic and fiscal impact on other public and nonpublic shools in the area. The assessment must be based upon data, not opinions. Include calculations using the anticipated number of students, the average operating expense per student for their district(s) of residence, and any anticipated federal aid that may follow such students. Include evidence that the district of location has been informed in a timely manner of this application and of its potential impact upon the district.

8. Describe the requirements and procedures for programmatic and independent fiscal audits, which must occur at least annually and be comparable in scope to those required in other public schools. A New York State public accountant or certified public accountant must be used for the fiscal audit which must be conducted in accordance with generally accepted audit procedures issued by the U.S. Comptroller General. Describe the components of the programmatic audit, and the uses that will be made of the data.

Management Plan

1.	Describe hiring and personnel policies and procedures, including the qualifications to be used in the hiring of teachers, school administrators, and other school employees, and a description of staff responsibilities. Include the number of certified and uncertified teachers and administrators to be hired. Provide copies of all such policies and procedures.
2.	Specify the minimum number of teachers to be employed. If the proposed charter school would employ fewer than three teachers after the first year of operation, please provide a justification.
3.	Describe the procedures the school will follow in case of its closure or dissolution, including the following:
		Provisions for the transfer of students and student records to the school district where the charter school is located, and
		Provisions for the disposition of the assets of the charter school to the school district in which it is located or to another charter school located within that school district.

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1.	Provide a proposed budget for the school, including supporting evidence that the school shall have access to sufficient capital to cover all operating, property maintenance, leasing or purchase costs during the start-up period. The budget should be in a form consistent with Attachment A.
2.	Provide a budget narrative that clearly describes the school’s anticipated fiscal policies and/or anticipated expenses in the following areas:
		Purchasing practices/competitive bid process;
		Types and amounts of insurance coverage including liability, property loss, and personal injury. Also include a narrative to describe the school's anticipated policy dealing with insurance reserves; and,
		Any expenses related to site renovation or minor remodeling necessary to achieve a Certificate of Occupancy.
3.	Provide a narrative explaining how the amounts of projected revenues in Attachment A, Schedule 4 were calculated. Include an explanation of the anticipated number of students to be served in the initial year of operation and a written disclosure of the number of students by home school district. All anticipated state and federal grant funds should be clearly described. Private funds, including donor restricted and unrestricted gifts, donations or grants must be disclosed including an explanation of how the Board of Trustees plans to use such funds.
4.	Provide evidence that all affected school districts of location have been informed of this application and its potential impact upon the district in a timely manner.
5.	Provide a written disclosure of all anticipated related party transactions that may occur as a result of a less-than-arm's-length (LTAL) relationship with a related party in accordance with the following definition:
	In general, a LTAL relationship exists when there are related parties and one party can exercise control or significant influence over the management or operating policies of another party, to the extent that one of the parties is or may be prevented from fully pursuing its own separate interests. These relationships must be disclosed in the "Notes" section of the audited financial statements.
	Related parties consist of all affiliates of a charter school including but not limited to:
		Its management and their immediate families;
		Its principal owners and their immediate families;
		Any party that may have an opportunity to enter into a transaction, or deal with the school and that party has ownership of, control over, or can significantly influence the management or operating policies of a school to the extent that an arm's length transaction may not be achieved.
	Common related party transactions include the following:
		services received or furnished (e.g., accounting, management, engineering, legal services);
		purchases and transfers of realty and personal property;
		lease of equipment;
		lease of real property.
6.	Provide evidence to demonstrate that adequate internal controls exist for the protection of school assets.
7.	Provide an assessment of the projected programmatic and fiscal impact on other public and nonpublic shools in the area. The assessment must be based upon data, not opinions. Include calculations using the anticipated number of students, the average operating expense per student for their district(s) of residence, and any anticipated federal aid that may follow such students. Include evidence that the district of location has been informed in a timely manner of this application and of its potential impact upon the district.
8.	Describe the requirements and procedures for programmatic and independent fiscal audits, which must occur at least annually and be comparable in scope to those required in other public schools. A New York State public accountant or certified public accountant must be used for the fiscal audit which must be conducted in accordance with generally accepted audit procedures issued by the U.S. Comptroller General. Describe the components of the programmatic audit, and the uses that will be made of the data.