This working group was established by S.L. 2018-83 (H1031). The School of Government and Department of State Treasurer were asked to convene a group of county and school officials to discuss and make recommendations on specific local funding issues. This website includes minutes from each of the working group’s meetings, background information that the working group considered, and the working group’s final recommendations. Note that neither School of Government staff nor Department of State Treasurer staff participated in formulating the working group’s final recommendations.
North Carolina Session Law 2018-83 (H1031) directs the Local Government Commission and the School of Government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to convene a working group to develop and recommend statutory parameters for (1) fund balances maintained by local boards of education, and (2) for disputes related to the capital outlay fund. The working group must include representatives from The North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, the North Carolina School Boards Association, and the North Carolina Association of School Business Officers.
The working group is specifically directed to report findings and recommendations to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee by March 30, 2019, related to the following
- School Fund Balances
- Minimum and maximum fund balances, with a focus on unencumbered funds.
- Appropriate uses of fund balances.
- Annual reporting requirements for fund balances.
- A process for factoring fund balances into annual local education budgets.
- The role of boards of county commissioners, if any, in determining the use of fund balances.
- School Capital Outlay Funds
- Mechanism for calculation by formula or other means to resolve disputes related to capital outlay as alternatives to litigation.
Faculty Coordinator
Robert W. Bradshaw Jr. Distinguished Professor of Public Law and Government