Financial Policies and Procedures (FPP)

The statutorily-authorized Advisory Committee provides advice to the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) regarding all aspects of school district financial management including budget development, financial record keeping, financial accreditation and financial data presentation. To that end, the Committee is responsible for preparation of the Financial Policies and Procedures Handbook, which every school district, charter school and institute charter school is required to use (Section 22-44-204, CRS), including the Chart of Accounts.

The Advisory Committee consists of 22 school district representatives – 20 rotating district members serving four-year terms and 2 permanent district members (Denver and Jefferson), as well as, 2 BOCES representatives and 3 charter school representative serving two-year terms. The Advisory Committee also includes non-voting alternate members and non-voting ex-officio members (representatives from CDE, the Colorado Association of School Boards, the Colorado Society of Certified Public Accountants, and the Office of the State Auditor).

Committee Documents

Additional Resources

NEW: Understanding the New School Funding Formula

FPP Committee Guidelines

I. Meetings

There shall be a minimum of four (4) meetings per year.
The meetings shall be called by the Colorado Department of Education personnel when agenda items warrant calling the committee together.
Notification
1. The membership shall be notified in writing at least five (5) working days in advance of the meeting date as to the time, place and agenda for the meeting.
2. Should an urgent matter make it necessary to hold a special meeting in less than five (5) working days the membership shall be notified by telephone of the date, time, place and agenda for the special meeting.
The location of each meeting will be determined by the Colorado Department of Education personnel. A basic criterion in the selection of the site will be the convenience of reaching the location by the majority of the membership.
A Committee member may request the chairperson of the Financial Policies and Procedures Advisory Committee to call a special meeting of the Committee prior to the next regularly scheduled meeting to consider an item or items of an emergency nature. If the chairperson determines that it is necessary to call a special meeting, the procedure in guideline I.(C) (2) shall be followed.

II. Membership

Composition
1. The committee shall consist of 2 permanent members (Denver & Jefferson Counties), twenty (20) school district members and two (2) BOCES serving rotating terms.
2. The term of office for a school district member serving a rotating term shall be four (4) consecutive years. Upon completion of a 4-year term, a Committee member shall not be eligible for re-election to membership on the Committee for at least twelve (12) months.
3. A Committee member elected to serve an unexpired term shall be eligible to be elected to a regular 4-year term upon completion of the unexpired term.
4. A school district may be represented by only one (1) Committee member.
Ex-officio non-voting members shall be representatives of the Colorado Department of Education, the Colorado Association of School Boards, the Colorado Society of Certified Public Accountants, the State Auditor’s Office and three members elected as Charter School Liaisons for two year terms.
Attendance
1. Membership on the committee may be terminated for any active member who is absent from three (3) consecutive meetings without adequate reason.
2. Members may send a substitute to any meeting, but the member will still be considered absent. Substitutes may participate in Committee discussions but may not make motions, second motions, or vote.
3. Ex-officio members are not required to attend meetings.
If members must be replaced for any reason, the replacement person’s name should be submitted first to the FPP Membership Subcommittee for preliminary screening. The Membership Subcommittee shall consider the following criteria when recommending school district personnel for membership.
1. Geographic location/setting category of the Committee members.
2. Size of school district represented.
3. Interest in the purposes and functions of the Committee.
4. Ability and commitment to regularly attend the meeting of the Committee.
5. Maintaining a variety of professional skills in the composition of the Committee.
Alternates
1. In addition to regular Committee members, the Committee will annually appoint a number of individuals to serve as alternates. Alternates may participate fully in Committee activities, but may not vote, except as follows:
  
  In the event that there are not enough regular members in attendance at a meeting to constitute a quorum, the Chairperson of the Committee shall appoint from among the alternates present a sufficient number for a quorum. The appointed alternate(s) shall be eligible to vote on each matter submitted to a vote of the committee at this meeting.
  
  The following shall be taken into consideration by the Chairperson in making the appointment of voting alternate(s).
  1. Geographic location of the alternate’s district.
  2. Size of school district represented.
  3. Regularity in attending FPP Committee meetings.
  4. Rotation of alternates selected.
  Participation as an alternate may serve as an interim step toward membership.
2. New members are selected from a pool of candidates that includes alternates, volunteers and nominees, with preference given to active alternates.

III. Functioning of the Committee

The chairperson of the Financial Policies and Procedures Advisory Committee shall be from the Colorado Department of Education.
The Financial Policies and Procedures Advisory Committee shall be strictly advisory in nature.
Formal parliamentary procedures may be waived by the chairperson in favor of Committee action by consensus.
Those not agreeing with the consensus of the committee on any particular issue may be requested by the chairperson to provide his/her reasons for disagreeing. Such reasons may serve as valuable assistance to the Committee or bear upon related issues.
All formal statements from the Committee shall be made by and through the Department of Education.
An individual Committee member may express his/her concerns to the Commissioner of Education in writing through the School Finance Unit of the Colorado Department of Education – Management Services.
Subcommittees may be appointed by the chairperson on an ad hoc basis.
Each official member shall be entitled to one vote on each matter submitted to a vote of the Committee.
Minutes of each meeting shall be prepared by the Department of Education and provided to each Committee member in a timely manner.