Levies & Funds

Capital Project Funds

School districts or area education agencies (AEA) establish capital project funds to account for the financial transactions related to acquisition or construction of facilities.

One capital project fund that a school district will establish is the Local Option Sales and Services/Statewide Tax for School infrastructure Capital Project Fund. The link below will redirect you to information about LOSST/SAVE.

Local Option Sales and Services/Statewide Tax for School Infrastructure (LOSST/SAVE), Iowa Code Chapters 423E and 423F.

For specific appropriate and inappropriate uses of capital projects funds and revenue sources, refer to Iowa Administrative Code chapter 281--98 and the Iowa Uniform Administrative Procedures Manual, chapter 9.

Debt Service Levy

The voters may approve bonded indebtedness for a period up to twenty years and approve a rate for a debt service levy up to $2.70 per thousand dollars of assessed valuation. However, the voters can also approve to exceed that rate limit up to $4.05. The proceeds from the sale of the General Obligation Bonds are deposited in a Capital Project Fund to be used for the costs of the project. The revenues from the Debt Service Levy are deposited in the Debt Service Fund to be used to retire principal and interest on the bonds.

For specific appropriate and inappropriate uses of debt service funds and revenue sources, refer to Iowa Administrative Code chapter 281--98 and the Iowa Uniform Administrative Procedures Manual, chapter 9.

General Fund

Levies that are part of the school foundation formula are revenues to the General Fund. The school board may annually certify a levy for cash flow in the General Fund, called a cash reserve levy, within limits set by the School Budget Review Committee. Money from all sources is accounted for in the General Fund except money required by law to be accounted for in another fund. Expenditures include the cost of providing an educational program to school-age children and day-to-day operations.

For specific revenue sources and appropriate and inappropriate uses of the general fund and categorical funding within the general fund, refer to Iowa Administrative Code 281-98 and the Iowa Uniform Administrative Procedures Manual, chapter 9.

Flexibility Account

A school district may authorize transfer of all or any portion of unexpended, unobligated amounts remaining at the end the fiscal year from the following categorical funds to the Flexibility Account: Preschool Foundation Aid, Professional Development Supplement, Home School Assistance Program, and Teacher Leadership Supplement. Additionally, a school district may transfer all or a portion of any unexpended and unobligated moneys in any other school district fund or school district General Fund account if the program, purpose, or requirements for the expenditure of such moneys have been repealed or are no longer in effect (Iowa Code 298A.2).

Before the board of directors may adopt a resolution approving expenditures from the Flexibility Account, it must hold a public hearing on the proposed resolution, which must include certain information prescribed in Iowa Code 298A. The board is required to publish notice of the time and the place of the public hearing not less than ten nor more than twenty days before the hearing in the same manner as required in Iowa Code 24.9, using the form prescribed by the Department.

Flexibility Account Notice of Public Hearing Form

General Fund: Flexibility Account

Instructional Support Program

A school district may establish an Instructional Support Program to provide additional funding in the General Fund. The Program may be established by a board resolution up to five years or approved by the voters up to 10 years. The Program may be funded by all property tax or a combination of property tax and income surtax. The total Program may not exceed 10% of the district's regular program district cost. The revenues from the Instructional Support Program may be expended for any purpose allowed from the General Fund, but may not be used to supplant funding authorized to be received for returning dropout and dropout prevention programs, gifted and talented programs, PPEL levy, Management levy, or special education deficits. Iowa Code 257.18

Instructional Support Program FAQs

Legislative Services Fiscal Topic - Budget Unit: Instructional Support Program

Educational Improvement Program

The voters in a school district may authorize an Educational Improvement Program to provide additional funding in the General Fund if the regular program district cost per pupil for a budget year is 110% of the regular program state cost per pupil for the budget year or the district had adopted an enrichment levy of 15% prior to July 1, 1992. In order to implement the Educational Improvement Program, the district must have also approved the Instructional Support Program. The Educational Improvement Program may be funded by all property tax or a combination of property tax and income surtax. The Program may not exceed the percent of the district's regular program district cost that was approved by the voters. Once voted, the Program continues to be authorized in the district until the voters rescind. The Educational Improvement Program may be expended for any purpose allowed from the General Fund. Iowa Code 257.29

Management Levy

The school board may annually certify a Management Levy. The revenues from the Management Levy may be used to pay the costs of unemployment benefits, costs of liability insurance and agreements, costs of judgments, and costs of certain early retirement benefits. Iowa Code 298.4.

For specific appropriate and inappropriate uses of the district management levy funds and revenue sources, refer to Iowa Administrative Code chapter 281-98 and the chapter 9 of the Iowa Uniform Administrative Procedures Manual.

Management Fund FAQ - Answers questions regarding early retirement, inventory, vandalism, safety equipment and worker compensation, deductibles, equipment insurance, judgments and settlements, levy limits, Affordable Care Act, and pooled insurance programs.

Use of Management Fund for Purchasing Commodities

Physical Plant & Equipment Levy

The school board may annually certify a regular Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) in an amount up to 33 cents per thousand dollars of assessed valuation.

The voters may authorize a voted Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (VPPEL) for a period not exceeding ten years and in an amount not exceeding $1.34 per thousand dollars of assessed valuation. The VPPEL revenues may be used for the same purposes as the PPEL revenues. In addition, the board may obtain loans against future VPPEL revenues and may repay that debt with interest from the VPPEL. Iowa Code section 298.2.

This levy may be used for the following purposes: purchase and improvement of grounds; construction of schoolhouses or buildings and opening roads to schoolhouses or buildings; purchase, lease, or lease-purchase of equipment or technology exceeding $500 per transaction; payment of debts contracted for the erection or construction of schoolhouses or buildings, not including interest on bonds; procuring or acquisition of library facilities; repairing, remodeling, reconstructing, improving, or expanding the schoolhouses or buildings and additions to existing schoolhouses; expenditures for energy conservation; rental of facilities; purchase of transportation equipment for transporting students; purchase or lease-purchase of school buildings; equipment purchases for recreational purposes; payments to a municipality or other entity as required under section 403.19, subsection 2 [TIF]; and demolition, clean up and other costs incurred within two years of a natural disaster. Revenues may not be used for employee salaries or travel; supplies; printing costs or media services; or for any other purpose not expressly authorized by Iowa Code.

For specific appropriate and inappropriate uses of the PPEL fund and revenue sources, refer to Iowa Administrative Code chapter 281--98 and the Iowa Uniform Administrative Procedures Manual, chapter 9.

PPEL Implementation FAQ

Below is an FAQ on Uses of PPEL Funding.

Physical Plant and Equipment FAQ

Election Results

The spreadsheets listed by school year are summaries of Physical Plant and Equipment Levies submitted to voters during each fiscal year. Previous years results are available upon request.

2020-21 Voter Approved PPEL Elections Results

Public Disclosure of Outstanding Levies

Iowa Code requires districts, prior to certifying any levy by board approval or submitting a levy for voter approval, to facilitate public access to a complete listing of all outstanding levies within the district by rate, amount, duration, and maximum levy limitations. The required levy information for districts is published on the Iowa Department of Management's website in a document called "Outstanding Property Tax Levies and Maximum Levy Limits."

Public Education & Recreation Levy

The voters may approve a Public Education and Recreation Levy (PERL) for an amount up to 13.5 cents per thousand dollars of assessed valuation. Once voted, the PERL continues to be authorized until voters rescind. Revenues from the PERL, also called Playground Levy, are used to establish and maintain public recreation places and playgrounds in the public school buildings and grounds of the district. The PERL revenues are also used to provide public educational and recreational activities within the district boundaries and for community education as defined in Iowa Code 300 and Iowa Code 276.

For specific appropriate and inappropriate uses of PERL funds and revenue sources, refer to Iowa Administrative Code chapter 281-98 and the chapter 9 of the Iowa Uniform Administrative Procedures Manual.

Student Activity Fund

A student activity fund must be established in any school district that is receiving money from student-related activities such as admissions, activity fees, student dues, student fund-raising events, or other student-related cocurricular or extracurricular activities. Moneys in this fund shall be used to support only the cocurricular program defined in Department of Education rules in the Iowa Administrative Code (Iowa Code 298A.8). Student Activity funds are public funds under the direction and control of the board of directors.

For specific appropriate and inappropriate uses of Student Activity funds and revenue sources, refer to Iowa Administrative Code 281-98.70 and the Iowa Uniform Administrative Procedures Manual, chapter 9.

Student Activity Fund Handbook of Frequently Asked Questions - A guidance document was updated with three main intentions. First, effort was made to identify supporting statutory, rule, industry, or other relevant references to support each answer. Second, questions were reviewed in the context of the current environment to improve clarity or simplicity while maintaining relevance to current contexts. Questions were added regarding topics that have been brought to the Department recently or on topics which are anticipated. Third, each answer was reviewed to ensure that it either followed specific legal directive or that any interpretation of code was as liberally construed as possible pursuant to Iowa Code 274.3(3).

The guidance document is not meant to be comprehensive but does include an array of scenarios related to the following topics: accounting, auditing, balancing negative accounts, booster clubs, camps and clinics, coaching contact out of season, charges and fees to students, community service fundraising, construction and facility maintenance, exclusive vendor contracts and sponsorships, fundraising, paid and unpaid staff and volunteers, professional development, shared activity programs, purpose of the student activity fund, support for students with IEPs or on 504 Plans, supporting low socioeconomic status students, tournaments and other state activities or events, trademarks, transportation, travel and trips, uniforms and clothing, uses of funds, and vendor incentives.

Hosting Fees for State Activity Events

IASBO General Session - Activity Fund - This is a PowerPoint presented September 2015.

IASBO March 23, 2022 Student Activity Fund Handbook of FAQs Update

IHSAA-IGHSAU Sponsored Event Ticket Policy This is a copy of a joint document from the Iowa High School Athletic Association and the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union.