This session will discuss FY24 UFARS Codes, FY25 UFARS Codes, which include updates from the 2024 legislative session, and various UFARS accounting reminders.

Challenged by teacher and staff shortages? Struggling to recruit and retain dedicated employees with fixed budgets and salary schedules? What employment practices are no longer effective? How does the leader of a school combat gossip and excuses? What can administration do to build a culture that fosters staff engagement? How might a felt sense of safety and real connectedness be created across your district? Explore real solutions to all of these challenges and more!

Accident investigation is critical in managing your workers' compensation program effectively. A thorough accident investigation can be the difference in determining compensability of a workers’ compensation claim. We will discuss current workers' compensation trends, best practices in accident investigation, and case law updates that may impact future compensability decisions.

Dive deeper into the pillars of GLOW: Growth, Love, Optimism and Well-being. By the end of this workshop, you'll see a radiant, empowered version of yourself, ready to shine brighter than ever. Additionally, elevate your overall well-being through practical tools and techniques, promoting a balanced and fulfilling life. Walk away with a customized resilience action plan, an unstoppable mindset, and a renewed drive to achieve your highest personal and professional goals.

The presentation will review general special education updates, including recent legislation, formula changes along with federal funding with the Minnesota Education Grants System (MEGS).

This presentation will cover the Top 10 questions the MDE School Finance MARSS and Student Accounting team receive on a regular basis.

Navigating through the Compliance Supplement including tips for using Sam.gov as well as the Uniform Guidance revisions that you should know for your next single audit.

This presentation will review Facilities, Age and Square Footage reporting necessary to calculate the operating capital portion of general education revenue under Minnesota Statutes, section 126C.10, and long-term facilities maintenance revenue under Minnesota Statutes, section 123B.595, for qualifying districts. The data is used to calculate aids and levies for both operating capital and long-term facilities maintenance. FAQs will be addressed.

The Special Education Data Reporting Application (SEDRA) / Uniform Financial Accounting and Reporting Standards (UFARS) reconciliation process is a partnership between Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) and the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE). Unreconciled differences between system means the lesser expenditure amount will be used in the calculation, reducing special education aid or reimbursement. The Special Education Funding and Data Team is responsible for calculating special education aid, which includes reviewing expenditures, to ensure that only eligible expenditures are included. This training will cover reconciling special education expendƒitures between reporting systems, where to look to find the reconciliation reports, how expenditure lines with errors are handled, deadlines, and troubleshooting.

Join our session on payroll fraud to uncover common schemes and learn effective strategies to detect and prevent fraudulent activities within your organization. This session will provide practical insights and real-world examples to help you safeguard your payroll processes and maintain financial integrity..

This presentation will review the requirements of the annual truth in taxation presentation as well as provide ideas on how to level up your presentation by educating your board and community to build trust in the financial management of your District. Participants will also be provided a complementary TNT presentation template.

This presentation will cover some of the laws enforced by the Department of Labor and Industry, and the Attorney General’s Wage Theft Division. It will give examples of common themes in wage theft cases, and particular issues that affect school districts.

In this reverse session Cathy wants to hear your questions, thoughts and ideas. Join in on this interactive format for great conversation about all things school finance.

Like many government entities in Minnesota, school districts are experiencing an influx of public data requests (all while simultaneously maintaining more and more government data). Responding to these requests is often time-consuming and costly, particularly when the requests involve private data intermingled with public data. This presentation will provide an overview of the law governing data requests and offer in-depth guidance on how school districts should respond, including when to seek legal counsel during the response process.

E-rate, or the Universal Service Schools and Libraries Program, is a national program that helps schools and libraries in the United States get affordable telecommunications and internet access. This session will provide a general information of the program, as well as dig deeper into the main requirements needed to get reimbursed.

Join a panel of experienced school business managers as they share their top strategies and best practices for educating and empowering school principals to effectively manage their budgets. This session will provide practical insights and actionable tips to enhance financial decision-making and resource allocation in schools. The panel will also discuss the impact of budget cuts and strategies to help with those conversations.

SECURE 2.0 permits employers to provide retirement plan matches on account of employees' qualified student loan payments rather than simply on account of employees' elective deferrals. This session will cover details of the student loan match under SECURE 2.0, match models for employers to consider, and Aviben's new student loan match administration service. The session will also include an overview of other SECURE 2.0 provisions impacting employee retirement plans.

How can districts optimally manage their funds while the Fed's in play? While the rate path may be unclear, there are tried and true strategies that can help optimize assets in any market environment. This session will explain the basics of these strategies and will outline how to develop and maintain a bigger picture plan designed to weather rate cycles.

This session will discuss the process for selling district assets - land, builidngs, equipment and contents of buldings. It will include what is needed in the RFP, where and how the sale needs to be posted and how the sale of the assets will be handled.

Join us in the hotel lobby great room for informal conversation, camaraderie and connecting. Members of the MASBO Board, along with Cathy Erickson (Minnesota Department of Education) and Tiffany Gustin (MSBA) will be on hand to answer questions, listen to ideas, and enjoy networking about all things school finance.

The Revenue Project Model is a valuable tool, and this session will cover all all of the basics--where to find it, what's included in it and how to get started.

Details Coming

School district funding and financing can seem like rocket science, making it even more challenging to communicate these complexities to district stakeholders. This session covers strategies to communicate financial information, engage your leadership team, board and community and understand the ‘what’ and ‘why’ of financial decisions. Insights from current finance leaders on best practices and successful methods will be shared.

This session will provide an overview of recent case law from Minnesota school districts.

This session covers the basics of recording and reporting state and federal revenue streams. Participants will learn how to accurately track funding, ensure compliance with state and federal guidelines, and prepare necessary financial reports.

Minnesota Statutes and the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”) restrict what an employer can do with its benefits. In most cases, those restrictions cannot be contracted away, either through an employment contract or collective bargaining agreement. In some cases, the objective can be met through multiple plans and plan design. In other cases, emphasis needs to be shifted to other benefits and compensation.

"AI For Dummies" is a presentation designed specifically for school business officials who are BRAND NEW to the world of artificial intelligence, particularly focusing on generative AI and its practical applications within an office settings. During this engaging session, attendees will be introduced to the fundamental concepts of generative AI in an easily digestible format. The presentation will start by providing a clear explanation of what generative AI is, how it works, and why it is relevant in the context of their work. The aim is to demystify AI technology and help business officials understand the potential benefits it can bring to their operations and initiatives.

The Minnesota Free School Meals Bill, which was signed into law in March 2023, included language that required some schools to participate in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). This session will provide an overview of CEP, the application process, and the operational requirements of CEP for School Nutrition Programs.

Kaylynn Johnson and Lauren Kingsbeck of Ratwik, Roszak & Maloney, P.A. will present on the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and its implications in Minnesota schools. This presentation will provide information about FMLA, address relevant changes in the law, and offer best practices for compliance with FMLA.

In today’s digital landscape, safeguarding your school from cyber threats is more important than ever. Join us for a practical and engaging session designed specifically for school business office staff. Discover how you can enhance your school’s cybersecurity using the free resources provided by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

During this session, you will:

• Understand CISA’s Role:** Learn how CISA plays a crucial part in national cyber defense and offers targeted support for educational institutions.
• Identify Emerging Threats:** Stay informed about the latest cyber threats affecting schools and gain strategies to protect your school’s data and systems.
• Access Free Resources:** Explore a variety of no-cost cybersecurity services and tools from CISA that are available to help your school build resilience and manage risks effectively.

Don’t miss this opportunity to arm yourself with essential, free resources to enhance your school’s cybersecurity and stay ahead of potential threats. This session is your gateway to a safer digital environment for your students and staff.

Best practices ensure compliance with state and federal regulations but that does not mean there is a one-size-fits-all approach to issuing debt. Depending on factors including interest rates, construction schedule, and investment portfolio a debt issuance could be structured in various ways. We’ll identify ways to combine debt issuance approaches with investment strategies to achieve optimal results for your district.

Adam Kuck from National Insurance Services (NIS) will be presenting on tax-advantaged medical savings accounts, including HRAs/VEBAs, HSAs, FSAs, and ICHRAs. This will include discussing how they work, tax-advantages of each, similarities and differences between the various plans, and how these plans interact with each other.

Duluth Schools has created and implemented a comprehensive set of guidelines for booster clubs in their district. This session will cover the process for developing the guidelines, and also will share the results to help you provide better guidance to your district booster clubs.

MSBA answers questions received from school districts across the state. Come and hear about some questions that have been asked and answered this fall....maybe they apply to you too!

It's been a great two days, but what now? This 30-minute session begins with techniques to unwind and re-center, and then will provide tools to help you sort out your learning and takeways from the conference, so you can be intentional with your time this weekend and be ready to start your work week with a realistic plan. Reflection is a key leadership practice that also increases well being by helping individuals:

• Look at the bigger picture
• Learn from experiences and move forward
• Assess what is going well and what can be improved
• Challenge assumptions and gain a new perspective
• Gain creativity and try new things

Join us for a few minutes to reflect, assess your key takeaways from the conference and create an action plan when you return to the office.