08 LC 33
2602S
The
Senate Education and Youth Committee offered the following substitute to HB
962:
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Article 3 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to local boards of education, so as to require public notice
of a budget deficit or irregularities within three business days; to require
notification of the superintendent of budget deficits identified at the local
level; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Article
3 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to local boards of education, is amended by revising Code Section 20-2-67,
relating to local school system or school subject to corrective action plan for
budget deficit, as follows:
"20-2-67.
(a)
When an audit by the Department of Audits and Accounts finds and reports
irregularities or budget deficits in the fund accounting information regarding a
local school system or a school within the local school system, the Department
of Audits and Accounts shall report the findings of irregularities or budget
deficits to the State Board of Education and the local board of
education.
(b)
The State Board of Education shall inform the superintendent of the local school
system of the irregularities or budget deficits regarding a local school
system´s or a school´s fund accounting information.
Within three
business days of notice to the superintendent of the irregularities or budget
deficits, the superintendent and the chairperson of the local board shall cause
to be published in the official county organ and a newspaper having the largest
general circulation in the county or municipality in which the local school
system is located once a week for two consecutive weeks a notice of such
irregularities or budget deficits; provided, however, that such notice shall not
be placed in the section of the newspaper where legal notices
appear. The superintendent shall submit
to the Department of Education a response to the findings and a corrective
action plan as defined by rules and regulations adopted by the State Board of
Education designed to correct the
financial
irregularities or budget deficits for the school or school system. From the time
such irregularity or budget deficit is discovered until the time it is
eliminated, the local school superintendent shall present to each member of the
local board of education for his or her review and written acknowledgment a
monthly report containing all anticipated expenditures by budget function for
such school or school system during the current month. The report shall be
presented to local board members on or before the tenth business day of each
month. Each monthly report shall be signed by each member of that local board
and recorded and retained in the minutes of the meeting of the local board of
education.
(c)
Not later than September 30 of the year, each local board of education shall
cause to be published in
the
official county organ wherein
the official
county organ and a newspaper having the largest general circulation in the
county or municipality in which the local
school system is located once a week for two weeks a statement of actual
financial operations for such schools or school system identified by the
Department of Audits and Accounts as having
financial
irregularities;
provided, however, that such notice shall not be placed in the section of the
newspaper where legal notices appear.
Such statement of actual financial operations shall be in a form to be specified
and prescribed by the state auditor for the purpose of indicating the current
financial status of the schools or school system. Prior to publication, such
form shall be executed by the local board of education and signed by each member
of said board and the local school superintendent.
(d)
A copy of the actual financial operations form required to be published by
subsection (c) of this Code section shall be mailed by each local board of
education to the Department of Education and the local county board of
commissioners or local municipal governing authority. A current copy of said
form shall be maintained on file in the central administrative office of the
local school system for public inspection for a period of at least two years
from the date of its publication. Copies of the statement shall be made
available on request."
SECTION
2.
Said
article is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as
follows:
"20-2-67.1.
In
the event the chief financial officer or other person acting in that capacity of
any local school system becomes aware of an unapproved budget deficit regarding
a local school system´s or a school´s fund accounting information at
the local level, such person shall inform the superintendent of that local
school system within three business days of such deficit. Within three business
days of notice to the superintendent of the unapproved budget deficit, the
superintendent and the chairperson of the local board shall cause to be
published in the official county organ and a newspaper having the largest
general circulation in the county or municipality in which the local school
system is located once a week for two consecutive weeks a notice of such budget
deficit; provided, however, that such notice shall not be placed in the section
of the newspaper where legal notices appear."
SECTION
3.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.