Bruin Finance
Bruin Finance is the page to learn more about how school finance works and specifically, how your Bruins are financed. Everything from where does our funding come from to where does it go. This page will try to simplify the complicated world of school finance and tell the story of where NWHSC has come from and where it's planning to go.
The Funding Streams for Schools
School finance in Indiana is a unique, complicated system with many regulations. Traditional methods used in personal or business finance may not apply to the world of school finance.
Three Main Funding Streams
Federal Funds - For NWHSC, these are provided through our Special Education Grant, School Lunch Reimbursements and Title Grants. These are very regulated and appropriated for very specific purposes.
State Funds - These are the funds the state provides based upon sales, income and use taxes.
Local Funds - These are the funds collected from property, income, and excise taxes as well as other monies collected by the school corporation from families that attend the school corporation.
The School Finance Funds
Money from these streams are appropriated in different "Funds" for use in schools. Federal funds flow through their own accounts and do not intermingle with the other school "Funds". The "Funds" are the Education Fund, Debt Service Fund, Operations Fund and Referendum Fund.
The Education Fund is funded by state funds and some of the local funds that families pay for services in the corporation, i.e. Cubs Preschool and Student Services Fee. The Education Fund is used to cover expenses for teachers, counselors, aides and building administrative salaries and benefits, student services, student and teacher technology and extra curricular salaries and benefits.
The Debt Fund is funded by property taxes and excise taxes. The Debt Fund is used to pay off bond issuances and fees associated with federal and state reporting associated with those issuances.
The Operations Fund is funded by property taxes, excise taxes, safety grant, before and after school SAS program, miscellaneous fees and transfers from the Education Fund. The Operations Fund is used to pay school board, central office staff, SAS, building custodians, maintenance, and transportation related salaries and benefits, utilities, legal fees, property/casualty/liability/worker compensation insurance, building and grounds maintenance and repairs, transportation and fuel costs, and operation technology costs.
The Referendum Fund is funded by voter approved referenda based upon the approved property tax rate. The funds would be used in whatever the approved referendum language dictated. NWHSC does not currently have a referendum fund.